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Stem cell therapy for kidney disease.

Clinics sell drips of donor stem cells for chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. No cell product is approved for any kidney condition, and the trials have not shown kidney function restored.[1][2]

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Written by Eli McGarvie.

Clinics that treat kidney disease.

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All 2 clinics
ClinicConditionsTreatmentsPrice from
Dream Body ClinicBucerías, Mexico KidneyKneeHipShoulder MesenchymalUmbilical cordIVInjections USD 1,750 BioGenesis Regenerative CenterPanama City, Panama KidneyArthritisMSDiabetes Umbilical cordMesenchymalExosomesIV USD 12,000

What to expect

The procedure

What clinics sell is usually a drip of donor umbilical cord cells, over one or several days abroad.[3] Every published chronic kidney disease trial used a single infusion.[2][4]

When it works, and how long it lasts

Clinics tell people to expect a change at three months.[3] Where trials saw any effect, it faded: in one transplant study the early benefit had gone by a year.[5][6]

Who it suits, and who it doesn't

People already on dialysis or with very low kidney function showed the least response, and no trial has tested them.[6][7]

Risks

In trials, side effects were mostly minor.[2] The risks that matter here are infection and antibodies against donor tissue, which made a later kidney transplant harder to match in 4 of 10 patients in one study.[8][5] Outside trials, a dialysis patient died after a commercial infusion, and a woman injected in the kidney grew masses that meant the kidney had to be removed.[9][10]

Will insurance pay for it?

In the US, outside a registered trial, it is an unapproved product and cannot be billed as an approved therapy.[1][22]

No trial has shown kidney function restored

Does it work? Not on current evidence. One small trial arm saw kidney function fall more slowly, but a direct measurement disagreed and a higher dose showed nothing.[2][11] No study has shown new kidney tissue growing.[12]

No differencein directly measured kidney function against placebo, and none at the higher doseNEPHSTROM trial[2][11]
10.6% vs 7.4%needed dialysis with cells against placebo after acute kidney injuryPlacebo-controlled trial, 156 people[13]
Fewer infectionsbut no difference in rejection when cells were added around a kidney transplantPooled review, 4 trials[14]
0 of 4kidney patients who paid a clinic and reported online described a lasting improvementOur review of patient accounts on Reddit and forums[3]

Where it is allowed

United States. No cell product is approved for any kidney condition.[1] The FDA has acted against companies marketing cell products for kidney failure.[15][16]

Malaysia. Every cell product used for kidney disease must be registered first.[17]

Mexico. COFEPRIS has said stem cell treatments lack authorisation.[18]

Specialists. Neither the kidney disease nor the lupus nephritis guideline from KDIGO mentions cell therapy.[19][20]

Common questions

Can it stop me needing dialysis?

No trial has tested that.[21][11]

Could it affect a transplant later?

Donor cells can raise antibodies that make a donor kidney harder to match. Patients warn that treatment abroad without your transplant team knowing can affect your listing.[5][3]

Questions to ask a clinic

  1. Which cells, how many, and can I see the certificate for my batch?
  2. What is your plan for my kidney stage, not a general package?
  3. Could donor cells make a future transplant harder to match?
  4. Will you share my results with my nephrologist and transplant team?
  5. What blood tests do you take before and after, and when?
  6. What happens if my kidney function falls afterwards?

Sources

22 references
  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Approved Cellular and Gene Therapy Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, 2026. Link
  2. Perico N, et al. Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell (ORBCEL-M) Therapy in Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial (NEPHSTROM). Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2023. Link
  3. StemFinder review of first-hand patient accounts on Reddit and patient forums, 2026. Method
  4. Packham DK, et al. Allogeneic Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPC) in Diabetic Nephropathy: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Dose Escalation Study. EBioMedicine, 2016. Link
  5. Erpicum P, et al. Infusion of third-party mesenchymal stromal cells after kidney transplantation: a phase I-II, open-label, clinical study. Kidney International, 2019. Link
  6. Carstens MH, et al. Safety of Stromal Vascular Fraction Cell Therapy for Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Cause (Mesoamerican Nephropathy). Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 2023. Link
  7. Zheng Y, et al. Allogeneic umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells for treatment of refractory lupus nephritis: a real-world study. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 2026. Link
  8. Reinders ME, et al. Autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of allograft rejection after renal transplantation: results of a phase I study. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 2013. Link
  9. Večerić-Haler Ž, et al. Multiorgan failure with fatal outcome after stem cell tourism. European Journal of Medical Research, 2021. Link
  10. Thirabanjasak D, et al. Angiomyeloproliferative lesions following autologous stem cell therapy. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2010. Link
  11. Perico N, et al. Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Infusion in Diabetic Kidney Disease. Kidney International Reports, 2026. Link
  12. Mathew GG. Cell based therapy in chronic kidney disease: emerging evidence for a fifth pillar in guideline directed medical therapy. Clinical and Experimental Nephrology, 2026. Link
  13. Swaminathan M, et al. Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Treatment of AKI after Cardiac Surgery. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2018. Link
  14. Zhao L, et al. Induction therapy with mesenchymal stromal cells in kidney transplantation: a meta-analysis. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 2021. Link
  15. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA puts company on notice for marketing unapproved stem cell products for treating serious conditions. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (press announcement), 2019. Link
  16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Warning Letter: R3 Medical Companies (Bello Bio, LLC and Regen Suppliers, LLC), 726330, 08/14/2026. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026. Link
  17. National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, Ministry of Health Malaysia. Guidance Document and Guidelines for Registration of Cell and Gene Therapy Products (CGTPs) in Malaysia, Second Edition (September 2025). 2025. Link
  18. Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS). La COFEPRIS suspendió clínica del D.F. que ofrecía tratamientos con Células Madre sin aval científico. Gobierno de México, COFEPRIS (press release), 2015. Link
  19. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney International (Official Journal of the International Society of Nephrology), Supplement to Volume 105, Issue 4S, 2024. Link
  20. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Lupus Nephritis Work Group. KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Lupus Nephritis. Kidney International (Official Journal of the International Society of Nephrology), Supplement to Volume 105, Issue 1S, 2024. Link
  21. Guo J, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of mesenchymal stem cell therapy in diabetic nephropathy and lupus nephritis or proteinuric nephropathy. BMC nephrology, 2026. Link
  22. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Regulatory Considerations for Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products: Minimal Manipulation and Homologous Use; Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff (July 2020). U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, 2020. Link

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