FAQ

Regenerative medicine is a medical field that aims to repair or regenerate cells and tissues damaged by illness or injury to restore their original function.
By supplementing new cells or enhancing the body’s self-healing ability, it seeks to improve conditions that were traditionally considered untreatable.

Specific approaches include the stem cell therapies we provide, as well as tissue engineering (technologies to create tissues or organs artificially) and gene therapy.

Regenerative medicine is applied to a very wide range of conditions.
For example, injuries of the brain and spinal cord, heart damage after myocardial infarction, diseases of the cornea and retina, and cartilage damage in joints.

Research and applications are also advancing for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, and for promoting the healing of severe burns and difficult-to-heal wounds.

In recent years, technologies in regenerative medicine have also drawn attention for applications in cancer treatment (e.g., immune cell therapy) and in the field of healthy aging (anti-aging).

Stem cell therapy is a treatment method that uses special cells called stem cells to help restore bodily functions.

Stem cells have the ability to self-replicate and to differentiate into various cell types.
They are present in bone marrow, blood, adipose (fat) tissue, and in the umbilical cord of newborns, where they help repair damaged tissues and replenish lost cells.

In stem cell therapy, either the patient’s own stem cells (autologous) or donor-provided stem cells (allogeneic) are administered into the body, and their regenerative capacity promotes healing from disease or injury.

The Wharton’s Jelly stem cells adopted by 23C are umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells, known to have particularly high regenerative potential compared with other stem cells.

For details, please see here.

NK cell therapy is a treatment that activates and expands natural killer (NK) cells—an immune cell type—and returns them to the body to enhance immunity.

NK cells identify and eliminate “undesirable” cells such as cancer cells and virus-infected cells. However, as diseases progress or with aging, NK cell function can decline, weakening their ability to attack cancer cells and increasing susceptibility to infections.

With NK cell therapy, blood is drawn once from the patient, NK cells are cultured outside the body to increase their number and activity, and the strengthened NK cells are then returned via IV infusion. This enhances immune surveillance and improves resistance to cancer and viruses.

For details, please see here.

The secretome is a liquid containing active components (such as cytokines and growth factors) secreted by stem cells that help suppress inflammation and promote cellular repair and regeneration.

Exosomes are one component of the secretome and mediate communication between cells.
The secretome contains exosomes along with various other active ingredients, enabling broader therapeutic applications.

In regenerative medicine, use of the secretome is relatively new and is applied particularly to skin rejuvenation, wound healing, and relief of joint pain.

For details, please see here.

In most countries, the cost of stem cell therapy is not covered by public health insurance.
It is provided as a self-funded (private) service, so please contact us for details.

For IV stem cell therapy, allowing about 60–120 minutes from securing the IV line to completing the infusion is generally sufficient.

However, the duration varies depending on each patient’s condition and treatment details.
For example, if injections into a joint are performed, extra procedure time is needed, and if a larger number of cells is administered, the infusion may take longer.
We will provide an individualized schedule so you can feel at ease.

The onset and timing of effects vary by condition and individual.
Some people feel pain relief or symptom improvement immediately after treatment.

For example, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis who received intra-articular stem cell injections, there are reports of reduced swelling and pain immediately after treatment.
By contrast, cases involving nerve repair or organ regeneration generally require months to feel results.

As a guideline, significant improvement is often seen about 3–6 months after treatment, when stem cells begin functioning at their maximum.
Because stem cells take time to engraft and differentiate into the required cell types, the body changes gradually.

For instance, in spinal cord injury, muscle strength may begin improving about six months after treatment, with walking ability improving over the following year.
Many studies and clinical trials report that the effects of stem cell therapy tend to increase over time.

It is important to be patient, monitor your progress, and undergo regular rehab and checkups to evaluate the effects.

For the stem cell therapies provided by 23C, we use umbilical cords (the baby’s “belly button cord”) donated from healthy newborns.

Specifically, we receive umbilical cords donated by mothers who delivered by Caesarean section and no longer need the cord after birth, from which stem cells are extracted and cultured.
Donor mothers undergo infectious disease screening (hepatitis B/C, HIV, syphilis, etc.) and health assessments in advance, and cords are donated only when all strict criteria are met.

There are no safety issues for mother or baby, and donations are made ethically.
Donated cords are immediately sterilized, and stem cells are extracted and cultured at our partnered NPRA-certified cell culture facility (23C Lab).
From collection through culture, processes are strictly controlled to obtain safe, high-quality stem cells.

These cultured and prepared stem cells are used for treatment only after passing all required testing.
Donor and cell lot information are fully recorded and managed in a traceable manner, so please rest assured.

The benefits of using these newborn umbilical cord-derived stem cells include less burden on the patient because no harvesting is required, and, above all, access to extremely young and powerful cells from a newborn.

This offers advantages not possible with older, autologous cells.

For details, please see here.

Stem cell therapy is considered to have very few side effects.
Worldwide, serious adverse events (life-threatening situations) from IV stem cell infusions have been rarely reported.

In 23C’s clinical trials and treatments, no severe adverse events have been confirmed.
Possible side effects include temporary fever, headache, and nausea.

Mild immune reactions such as a slight fever within 24–48 hours after infusion, or symptoms like headache or fatigue, may occur but usually resolve naturally within a few days.

These are thought to be transient reactions as the body accommodates the stem cells.
Very rarely, pain or rash at the infusion site may occur, but appropriate care typically leads to quick improvement.

It is important to pay attention to your condition for some time after treatment and contact medical staff immediately if you feel anything unusual.
We also conduct follow-up contact after you return home to check for side effects.

Wharton’s Jelly stem cells are among the youngest and most active stem cells, combining robust growth, repair capacity, and immunomodulatory effects.
Compared with other representative stem cells such as bone marrow-derived MSCs and adipose-derived MSCs, they excel in the following ways:

• High proliferative capacity:
  WJ-MSCs proliferate rapidly during ex vivo culture, enabling large numbers of cells to be obtained in a short period.
  Some reports indicate proliferation rates several times higher than bone marrow or adipose MSCs.
  This allows high-dose cell administration, making it easier to enhance therapeutic effects.
• Broad differentiation potential:
  The wider the range of cell types a stem cell can become, the more tissues it can help regenerate.
  Adipose-derived MSCs have a relatively limited differentiation range, whereas WJ-MSCs can reportedly differentiate into a very broad array of cells, including nerve, cartilage, bone, muscle, and liver.
  This is because newborn-derived stem cells partially retain traits close to pluripotency, theoretically enabling involvement in repairing many organs.
• Strong immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects:
  WJ-MSCs not only promote repair of damaged tissues, but also strongly suppress inflammation and help balance the immune system.
  They are therefore expected to be highly effective for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and for conditions accompanied by chronic inflammation.
  Immune-mediated preventive effects against cancer are also under study.
• Very young and highly active:
  Because they are sourced from newborn umbilical cord, the cells are not aged and have long telomeres (i.e., longer cellular lifespan).
  They are less prone to deterioration even after repeated culturing, and remain vigorous in the patient’s body.

For these reasons, Wharton’s Jelly stem cells are attracting worldwide attention as a new standard in regenerative medicine.

For details, please see here.

Costs vary significantly depending on the treatment details, number of sessions, and the number of cells administered.
Therefore, it is difficult to quote a single fixed price.
At 23C, we take your budget into account and propose the best possible plan within what is feasible. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Please see here.

Treatment is possible with a minimum stay of 2 nights and 3 days.

For details, please see here.

Yes, they are different.
As mentioned above, the secretome is a liquid containing active substances—such as growth factors and cytokines—secreted by stem cells; it does not contain live stem cells.

They are used differently depending on the treatment goal: for severe conditions or when major tissue regeneration is needed, using the stem cells themselves tends to be more effective.
For milder conditions where reducing inflammation is the aim, or for cosmetic purposes (e.g., skin rejuvenation), an IV infusion of the secretome may be chosen as a simpler option.

Each has merits, and 23C will make appropriate recommendations based on your preferences and condition.

For details, please see here.

No. Receiving someone else’s stem cells will not change the genes of your own cells.

The effects of stem cell therapy do not come from the administered stem cells directly integrating into tissues or rewriting a patient’s genetic information, but rather from activating the patient’s own cells and promoting functional recovery. Therefore, infusing stem cells does not change your DNA or genes.

It was once thought that transplanted stem cells would migrate to the damaged site, integrate into the tissue, and differentiate into specific cell types to exert therapeutic effects. However, current research indicates that only a very small number of transplanted cells remain long-term at the injured site, and the primary mechanism is that bioactive substances secreted by the stem cells stimulate the patient’s own cells to repair tissue.

Accordingly, stem cell therapy does not alter your genes, and its safety in this respect is ensured.

Reference: frontiers