What to Ask Before Your First Stem Cell Therapy Appointment

Your first stem cell therapy appointment will be informational and exciting as you start on the road to long-lasting rehabilitation.  Some apprehension before your first appointment is normal, but our friendly, experienced staff will be with you every step of the way to help answer your questions and guide you through the treatment process.

Stem cell therapy is akin to a cortisone shot appointment. Stem cells are injected at the site of your injury or pain so that they can get to work renewing and repairing. Here are some common questions and answers patients have about stem cell treatment that can help prepare you for your first appointment.

What Type of Stem Cells Will Be Used for Treatment?

Not all stem cells are alike, and some, embryonic stem cells have spurred serious ethical debates. Our clinic’s don’t utilize embryonic stem cells; they originate in the earliest stages of development.

Depending on your unique treatment needs, you may receive treatment with any of the following types of stem cells, (with the most common form used being amniotic stem cells):

• Adult (or Tissue Specific) Stem Cells: Materialize during fetal development and stay in the body throughout life. These stem cells are found in many organs including the brain, heart, liver, bone marrow and skin but have limited self-renewal capacity. They have been successfully used for therapy in the organs from which they were originally derived. Bone marrow transplants are an example of the life-saving capabilities of adult stem cells.
• Cord-Blood Stem Cells: These stem cells are derived from umbilical cords. Cord-blood stem cells are also multipotent. Although they are limited in their offerings, cord-blood stem-cell transplants have become a viable alternative to bone-marrow transplants for treating blood disorders like leukemia, when a bone-marrow match is unavailable.
• Amniotic Stem Cells: Amniotic stem cells were first isolated from amniotic fluid in 2007. In 2010, researchers converted amniotic fluid cells into pluripotent stem cells, which are similar to ES cells.  Derived from the amniotic sac. The major difference between embryonic stem cells and amniotic is that unlike embryonic stem cells, amniotic cells are not pluripotent. They are “multipotent”; they can only differentiate into certain cell types.  Creating stem cells from a patient’s own tissue eradicates problems with immune rejection and avoids the controversial use of embryos. But their inability to morph into as many tissue types as real embryonic cells remains a limitation.
• Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS Cells): Engineered by scientists in a laboratory from specialized cells (like from the skin) that have shared qualities to those of embryonic stem cells.
• Nuclear Transfer (NT)-ES cells: were developed using human cells in 2013. These are stem cells created by taking the DNA from a somatic cell and using it to replace the genetic material in an egg cell.

Is Your Team/Facility Accredited to Administer Stem Cell Therapy?

It is important that you do your homework before any type of medical procedure. Before your first stem cell therapy appointment, evaluate your choice of physician and ask them to tell you about their experience and credentials, including their approach to stem cell treatment.  An informed patient is a patient that is more likely to succeed with the treatment process.

Our Stem Cell Center locations are state-of-the-art treatment centers, staffed by experts who utilize leading-edge technologies and advanced treatment modalities to deliver patient-centric care. Rest assured you or your loved one will be provided with access to the latest research-based stem cell therapy in a comfortable, caring environment.

What Integrated Services Do You Provide to Support the Success of Stem Cell Treatment?

Make sure and ask your doctor before your first stem cell therapy appointment what integrated services they provide for your care. To ensure the best reception of injected stem cells into your body, it is important that your body is prepared for treatment before, during and after.

Ensuring that your nutrition is adequate and that your body is free from inflammation support good outcomes with regeneration and healing. Our approach to treatment is comprehensive. We will make sure that you are prepared to the best of our ability to achieve your goals with stem cell therapy.

The Stem Cell Centers is a multidisciplinary environment where different disciplines who are passionate about regenerative medicine can combine their individual expertise to create the best environment for patient’s to heal.

What Results Has Your Center Observed with Patient Rehabilitation?

Before your first stem cell therapy appointment, don’t be afraid to ask your physician what kind of results their facility has had with stem cell therapy. How many people do they treat on average and of that number how many have had successful outcomes?  Ask if they can provide you with data collection on their procedures, volumes, and clinical outcomes. Clinics that keep track and monitor patient results are support the professional standards you should demand. Relying solely on patient testimonials shouldn’t be your only analytical resource.

Having this information can help you better gauge before your first stem cell therapy appointment if you have found a treatment facility you can trust.

Call for a Free Stem Cell Therapy Consultation

Regenerative treatment can restore vitality and relieve pain of those suffering from a myriad of diseases and conditions. Learn about candidates for stem cell therapy by scheduling an appointment and visiting with our physicians on the applications for amniotic stem cell therapy with your current injury.  Call The Wellness Firm today at (904) 550-4376 and see what stem cell therapy can do for!