If you are considering stem cell therapy for a health issue, an expert’s opinion can help. Ask your doctor these questions before picking a stem cell treatment.

Are you considering stem cell treatment for some issues? Well, before you do that, there are 7 questions you need to ask the doctor that will be performing the therapy.

In premise, the basis of these questions is to ensure that you do not go into treatment without knowing the potential side-effects, and issues that can be caused by an inexperienced doctor.

In this article, we will cover 7 questions that you can ask to ensure your experience goes smoothly.

So keep reading to learn more.

What Is Stem Cell Treatment?

Stem cell treatment, a.k.a regenerative medicine employs the use of stem cells and their derivatives to promote the repair response in injured, diseased, and dysfunctional tissue.

It is the future of organ transplantation and uses cells instead of donated organs, which are always limited in suppliance. Researchers can also grow stem cells in labs, and they are then manipulated to represent and serve the purpose of other cells, such as nerve cells, blood cells, heart muscle cells.

The specialized cell is then subject to injection into the person. For instance, if a person has a brain disease, the cells get injected in the spinal column or neck using brain-like stem cells. These transplanted cells can contribute to the repair of the defective brain particles. And that’s how stem cells work.

Here’s what you got to ask your doctor

How Many Years of Experience Do You Have With Stem Cell Treatment?

When it comes to executing a treatment of any kind, a physician must have a plentiful experience. The reason is quite simple. The more times the doctor has performed the treatment, the more likely he is to know how it works, what happens after it, what can cause side-effects, and how the side-effects can be treated or mediated.

So if someone is new to stem cell therapy, you should probably look elsewhere, and find another doctor. Or at least ask if there is another specialist at the clinic with more experience.

What Are You Specialized In?

What the doctor has specialized in will define them as the medical specialist in that field. The field of medicine has made up their career, but what specializations do they have?

When it comes to stem cell treatment, there is no specialization as it used in a variety of fields. However, what you should be looking for is specialization in the field of which your condition is part of. If you have cancer, look for an oncologist. If you have joint issues, find an orthopedist.

You can always determine if they know about stem cells well enough by looking through their past procedure history, conference attendances, and symposia.

Where Will the Stem Cells Be Sourced From?

Stem cells do not necessarily have to come from your body. First, they can come from your body or from another donor. However, it’s almost always recommended that the stem cells are extracted from your body, as it minimizes the risks of rejection. 

Beyond that, they can come from bone marrow or adipose fat. A proper clinic should have the tools and ability to harvest either, as one is more useful in certain applications, whereas the other is more useful in others. 

Do your research, and figure out which would be more useful for your condition, and see whether or not the clinic harvests those cells.

How Will the Cells Be Harvested?

The method by which the stem cells are subject to harvest is very important to the positive outcome of your treatment. When harvesting fat tissue, it is subject to liposuction. 

When harvesting bone marrow, it is done with aspiration. When doing this, the doctor should have visualized guidance with image tomography and must harvest from separate parts of the bone, as it will improve the number of stem cells extracted.

Ensure the doctor is doing his work properly.

What Are the Side-Effects?

Only the clinics that tell you there are no side-effects should be avoided at all costs.

If the stem cells are rejected, the body can attack itself, or even worse develop cancer, among a variety of other things. However, this is very rare, but you should be aware of the side-effects in advance. 

Aside from serious complications, common side-effects are fatigue, nausea, flu-like symptoms. Albeit, all of these can be subdued rather quickly.

How Much Will It Cost?

Regenerating stem cell therapy has a price. And you have the right to know the exact cost before you get into anything. Learn about the cost of the package, as well as what is included and what is not. 

Some clinics might list the stem cell applications as optional, which means you will have to incur extra costs for the injection. This often happens because the clinic has to determine your eligibility for the treatment, and the primary cost covers the tests required for this. 

Also, consider non-medical costs that you might incur, such as transportation, etc. Especially, if getting the treatment abroad.

How Soon Do I Get to See Results?

Depending on the stem cell treatment, it will take a variably significant amount of time for it to show effect. In most cases, a month or two is more than enough to begin seeing results. 

However, if a clinic is promising miraculous results in a matter of days, you should stay clear from them as they are clearly selling something they do not possess.

Stem Cells for You

Now that you know what to ask before your stem cell treatment, you are well on your way to ensure that your experience is pleasant and not disruptive. As long as you ask these questions, you will be able to gauge whether or not this clinic is right for you.

If you’re interested in similar articles, feel free to check out our filtered medical pages at the top of the website.