Long-established Panama City clinic treating patients with donated umbilical cord mesenchymal cells processed in its own certified laboratory.
The Stem Cell Institute is a private clinic in Panama City, Panama, based in the BICSA Tower. It states it has operated since 2006 and employs a team of more than 100 people. It is one of the longest-running and best-known clinics of its kind outside the United States.
The cells used are mesenchymal stem cells taken from donated umbilical cord tissue from healthy full-term births in Panama. These are processed at Medistem Panama, the institute's own laboratory, described as an 11,000 square foot facility that is ISO 9001 certified and compliant with good manufacturing practice, with more than 75 employees. The institute markets a proprietary selection process it calls Golden Cells, saying it uses its own technology to evaluate the molecular signature of donated cells. Treatment is given by drip into a vein, by injection into muscle or joints, into the fluid around the spinal cord, or around lymph nodes, and includes physical examination, blood testing and follow-up monitoring.
The institute states that more than 80,000 procedures have been performed since 2006, and its founder, Neil H. Riordan, is described as having published more than 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals and holding 17 families of patent applications. These are figures the institute publishes about itself and are not independently verified here. Note also that the founder's listed qualifications are PA (physician assistant) and PhD, not a medical doctorate; no treating physician is named separately on the main page, so it is worth asking who would supervise your care.
The institute treats a range of conditions from arthritis to autism and multiple sclerosis. Ask what published trial evidence supports use in your own condition, and discuss it with your regular doctor.
The institute names its source clearly and processes cells in its own certified laboratory.
The founder is named, but no treating physician is identified separately on the main page.
The institute is on the 63rd floor of the BICSA Tower in Panama City, Panama, and can be reached on 1-800-980-STEM (7836) or 1-954-358-3382. It states it has operated since 2006, employs more than 100 professionals, and runs its own laboratory, Medistem Panama, with more than 75 staff. International patient coordinators and a concierge service help visiting patients arrange their stay and treatment schedule. Opening hours and languages are not stated on the main page.
No prices are published on the website. Costs are quoted after review of a patient's medical history, so you would need to apply and ask for a written quote.
Profile compiled from information published on the clinic's own website and from the StemCell Registry directory record. Details may change; confirm directly with the clinic before making decisions.