Stem Cell Programs
Authorised translational programmes in the Boao Lecheng pilot zone.
- Status
- Hospital translational program
- Destination
- China
- Authorising body
- Lecheng Medical Products Administration
- Public reference
- Le Yi Yao Jian [2025] No. 113
- Last checked
- · from published sources
One authorised programme in the Boao Lecheng pilot zone treats selected adults who have Type 2 diabetes with umbilical-cord mesenchymal stromal cells. It runs as a translational clinical application — a defined, authorised programme with published criteria and published prices — not as an approved diabetes medicine and not as a treatment available elsewhere in China. It is given alongside standard diabetes care, not instead of it.
- Authorised under Lecheng Medical Products Administration notice Le Yi Yao Jian [2025] No. 113, for translational clinical application only.
- Three infusions, roughly 28 days apart — not a single one- or two-week visit. Budget for the schedule, not just a trip.
- Published price is RMB 174,000–278,400 for the three-infusion course, set by body-weight band, and excludes consultation, accommodation and meals.
- Screening is narrow: HbA1c 7–9.5%, fasting C-peptide ≥ 0.3 ng/mL, ages 18–80, and a hospital safety review. GADA positivity is an exclusion.
- No published figure for HbA1c reduction, medication reduction, or insulin discontinuation. The programme's own materials state outcomes are uncertain and vary by individual.
What “Hospital translational program” means
A hospital-run programme operating under institutional review rather than a market registration. Evidence is earlier-stage; we label it as such rather than calling it approved.
How we verify, and what each date means →What it is, in plain terms
Mesenchymal stromal cells are being studied for effects on inflammation, insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function. Studies differ widely in cell source, dose, background medication and follow-up, so a result reported in one study is not a forecast for an individual patient.
Boao Lecheng is a pilot zone in Hainan where authorised institutions may run specified programmes that are not generally registered elsewhere in China. That is what makes this programme available — and it is also why it carries a notice number rather than a national registration.
Who the hospital screens for
These are the published screening criteria the treating hospital applies. They are not a self-assessment tool — eligibility is decided by the hospital's physicians, and most enquiries do not meet them.
| Criterion | Published requirement |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis | Type 2 diabetes, per WHO 2019 diagnostic criteria |
| Prior treatment | Poor glycaemic control despite lifestyle measures and multiple glucose-lowering medicines |
| Glucose and HbA1c | Fasting glucose ≥ 7 mmol/L; HbA1c ≥ 7% and ≤ 9.5% |
| Fasting C-peptide | At least 0.3 ng/mL |
| Age | 18 to 80 |
| Key exclusions | GADA positivity, severe or uncontrolled diabetes complications, serious infection, severe cardiovascular, liver or kidney disease, pregnancy or breastfeeding, HIV antibody positivity |
| Safety review | Hospital assessment of cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, infection and malignancy risk before acceptance |
Type 1 diabetes is outside this programme. The C-peptide floor and the GADA exclusion both exist to confirm the diagnosis is Type 2.
What the course involves
The published schedule spans roughly three months of infusions plus follow-up, so it is not a single short trip.
Screening
The hospital reviews diagnosis, treatment history, glycaemic control, C-peptide and safety risks, and decides whether to accept the case. Additional tests are at the treating team's discretion.
Three infusions, ~28 days apart
Umbilical-cord mesenchymal stromal cells, dosed by body-weight band. The hospital sets route, duration, monitoring and observation for each patient.
Follow-up
The published programme includes three months of follow-up and health-management support. Required tests and how results are communicated are set by the hospital.
Standard diabetes care continues
This is given alongside existing treatment. Do not change or stop prescribed diabetes medication except on your own physician's instruction.
What the evidence does not establish
The programme's own 2026 materials state that the technology remains at a translational clinical-application stage, that outcomes are not certain, and that individual response varies. There is no published rate for HbA1c reduction, medication reduction, insulin independence, or duration of any benefit.
Anyone quoting you a success rate for this programme is going beyond what the hospital itself publishes. If you are given a number, ask which study it comes from, what its comparison group was, and how long patients were followed.
Published price
The hospital publishes a price schedule by body-weight band, with cell dose determined by medical instruction. These are the published figures, not a quotation for any individual.
| Body weight | Cells per infusion | Per infusion | Three-infusion course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 55 kg | 5 × 10⁷ | RMB 58,000 | RMB 174,000 |
| Under 65 kg | 6 × 10⁷ | RMB 69,600 | RMB 208,800 |
| Under 75 kg | 7 × 10⁷ | RMB 81,200 | RMB 243,600 |
| 75 kg and over | 8 × 10⁷ | RMB 92,800 | RMB 278,400 |
The course price includes a RMB 5,600 diabetes assessment package and three months of follow-up. It excludes a RMB 16 outpatient fee, a RMB 1,000 specialist consultation, accommodation, meals, travel, and the cost of managing any complication. We do not publish comparisons against prices in other countries: we cannot source them to a published schedule the way we can source this one.
Questions worth asking
- Is this a cure for Type 2 diabetes?
- No, and the programme does not claim to be. It is an authorised translational clinical application given alongside standard diabetes care. No cure, remission rate, or medication-reduction figure is published.
- Is it legal, and is it approved?
- Those are different questions. It is authorised under a named Lecheng Medical Products Administration notice for translational clinical application inside the pilot zone. It is not a nationally registered diabetes medicine, and it is not available at ordinary hospitals elsewhere in China.
- Can I stop insulin or my other medication afterwards?
- Nothing in the published materials supports that. Do not change prescribed diabetes medication except on the instruction of your own treating physician, based on their monitoring.
- What if I do not qualify?
- Most people who enquire will not. The C-peptide floor, the HbA1c ceiling and the GADA exclusion rule out a large share of applicants, and the hospital's safety review rules out more. A decline is a normal outcome, not a negotiation.
- How long do I need to be in China?
- The infusions are about 28 days apart, so plan around the schedule rather than a single trip. The hospital decides observation and discharge timing, and whether any part of follow-up can happen after you return home.
Where this comes from
This page is compiled from the published documents listed below. Nobody at MedAccess.care has yet confirmed the programme's current status, pricing or intake directly with the treating hospital, so treat everything here as what the published sources state rather than as confirmed current availability. We confirm directly before any case is submitted, and this page is updated to say so when we have.
- Lecheng Medical Products Administration authorisation noticeLe Yi Yao Jian [2025] No. 113 — translational clinical application of human umbilical-cord mesenchymal stromal-cell treatment for Type 2 diabetes
- Treating hospital public price scheduleType 2 diabetes stem-cell treatment, body-weight band pricing and three-infusion course
- Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot ZoneOverview of frontier biomedical technologies, July 2026 edition — Type 2 diabetes programme entry
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