Patient guide
How to choose a stem cell clinic in Türkiye: 25 questions to ask before travelling
A checklist you can send to any clinic, including this one. Every question has a verifiable answer, and every answer should arrive as a document rather than as reassurance.
- Medically reviewed by:
- Prof. Dr. Erdal Karaöz Team
- Last reviewed:
- Next review:
How to use this list
Copy the twenty-five questions into one email and send them, unedited, to every clinic on your shortlist — us included. Ask for written answers before any deposit. You are not looking for perfect answers: you are looking for specific ones, supported by documents, with the unknowns admitted rather than smoothed over. A clinic that answers twenty-two of twenty-five precisely and says "we cannot answer that yet" to three is far more trustworthy than one that answers all twenty-five with confidence and no paperwork.
The questions are grouped in the order a treatment actually happens: who treats you, what the product is, how it was tested, how it is given, what happens afterwards, and what it costs.
Take the checklist with you
A printable PDF with all 25 questions, space to record each clinic's answer, and the scoring guide. No email required.
The 25 questions
1.Who is the treating physician?
Ask for a full name, specialty, registration number and the hospital they practise at. 'Our medical team' is not an answer. You should be able to look the person up independently before you fly.
2.Where exactly is treatment administered?
A named, accredited hospital or licensed day-surgery unit, with the address. Administration in an office, hotel or clinic without emergency support is a hard stop for intravenous or intrathecal procedures.
3.What is the exact cell source?
The tissue, not the category: Wharton's jelly from umbilical cord, bone marrow aspirate, adipose tissue. 'Stem cells' on its own tells you nothing about what is being administered.
4.Is the product autologous or allogeneic?
Yours or a donor's. This changes the harvest procedure, the screening obligations, the regulatory pathway and the documentation you should expect to see.
5.Which laboratory processes the cells?
A named facility with an address. If processing is outsourced, that is normal — but you need the name so the licence and GMP scope can be checked against the right entity.
6.What licence does that laboratory hold?
The authority, the licence number and the validity dates. Ask which body inspects the facility and when the last inspection was.
7.What does the GMP certificate actually cover?
Scope is everything. A certificate must name the site, the activities and the product class, and it must be in date. Read the scope line before the logo.
8.What tests are performed on the product?
Identity, count, viability, sterility, mycoplasma, endotoxin, and potency where a potency assay exists. Ask for the list, then ask to see the results for your batch.
9.What is the cell dose?
Viable cells of the named type, per administration, and per kilogram for systemic routes. Ask which published protocol the dose follows.
10.What is the viability at administration?
Not at harvest — at the bedside, or at release with the transport time stated. Ask for the method and the release specification alongside the number.
11.How is sterility confirmed?
Which method, what is known at the time you are treated, and what is still incubating. Ask for the written procedure if a result turns positive after you have gone home.
12.Is mycoplasma tested?
Mandatory for any culture-expanded product, with its own assay. It is not covered by the sterility test.
13.Is endotoxin tested?
Yes or no, with a numeric limit. The test is fast, so the result should always exist before administration.
14.What is the delivery route?
Intravenous, intra-articular, intrathecal, intramuscular or a combination. Each has a different risk profile and a different evidence base.
15.What evidence supports that route in my condition?
Ask for the studies, then check the condition, the route, the dose and whether there was a control group. Route evidence and product evidence are different questions.
16.What are the alternatives, including doing nothing?
Standard care, physiotherapy, surgery, watchful waiting. A clinic that cannot describe the alternatives honestly is not in a position to advise you on this one.
17.What happens if I am found unsuitable?
The answer should be a refund of anything paid beyond assessment, a written explanation and a redirection. Being declined is a normal outcome of a real assessment.
18.Which complications are covered, and by whom?
Ask what happens clinically and financially if you develop a complication during your stay, and who pays for readmission. Get the answer in writing.
19.What is the follow-up plan?
Named timepoints, named measures, named contact. 'We stay in touch' is not a plan. Ask at three, six and twelve months specifically.
20.What documentation will I be given?
Discharge summary, product documentation for your batch, the administered dose, medications given, and the follow-up schedule — ideally in a language your own doctor reads.
21.What happens after I return home?
Who reviews you, how, and how your own physician is kept informed. Ask whether reports will be sent to your doctor and in what format.
22.What exactly is included in the price?
An itemised list: consultation, imaging, product, administration, hospital, accommodation, transfers, follow-up. Ask for it before any deposit.
23.What is excluded?
The more important half of the question. Extra nights, additional doses, complications, repeat imaging, companion costs and flights are the usual gaps.
24.Which regulatory framework applies to this treatment?
The legal status of the product in the country of treatment, and who supervises it. A clinic that avoids this question is avoiding the one that determines your protections.
25.Can you provide documentary evidence for all of the above?
The final and most useful question. Ask for the whole set by email. The speed and completeness of the reply is itself the most informative data point you will get.
Scoring the replies
| Pattern in the reply | What it usually means | Suggested action |
|---|---|---|
| Documents attached without being chased | Verification is routine for them | Proceed to clinical questions |
| Specific answers, some 'not yet known' | Honest and evidence-aware | Proceed, keep the written record |
| Confident answers, no documents | Sales-led rather than clinic-led | Ask once more, in writing, and wait |
| Answers change between calls | No single source of truth internally | Stop and reconsider |
| Deposit requested before assessment | Commercial process ahead of clinical process | Do not pay |
| Guarantees of outcome | Claim beyond any published evidence | Remove from the shortlist |
Before you book the flight
- Written answers to the 25 questions, from every clinic on the shortlist
- A written treatment plan naming product, dose, route, dates and the treating physician
- The itemised quotation, with exclusions and the refund policy if you are declined
- Confirmation of the hospital where administration takes place
- Your own physician's view on the plan — send it to them before you commit
- Travel and medical insurance that does not exclude planned treatment abroad
- The earliest safe date to fly home after your specific procedure
Copy this request and send it to any clinic
Two ready-made messages that ask for the certificates, licences, test results and quotation in one go. Send them unedited, to us as well as to anyone else on your shortlist.
Email template
Subject: Documentation request before consultation — stem cell treatment Dear team, I am considering treatment with you and would like to review your documentation before we go further. Please reply by email with the following: 1. The GMP or manufacturing authorisation certificate for the laboratory that will process my cells, showing the issuing authority, site address, scope and expiry date. 2. The licence or registration that permits that facility to procure, process and store human cells, with the licence number and issuing authority. 3. A sample Certificate of Analysis for a released batch, with patient data removed. 4. The release specifications you apply: cell viability, identity markers, sterility, mycoplasma and endotoxin, each with the method used and the acceptance limit. 5. The cell dose I would receive, stated in cells per kilogram of body weight, and the number of doses. 6. The cell source and tissue of origin, and whether the product is autologous or allogeneic. 7. The route of administration proposed for my condition, and the reason for that route. 8. The name and registration number of the physician who would treat me, and the hospital where administration takes place. 9. The published evidence you rely on for my indication, with references. 10. An itemised quotation showing what is included, what is excluded, and your refund policy if I am assessed as unsuitable. My condition, age and relevant history: [add here]. I understand some answers may depend on assessment. Where that is the case, please say so rather than estimating. Kind regards, [your name]
WhatsApp template
Hello, before booking a consultation I would like to check your documentation. Could you please send me: 1) the GMP certificate for the processing laboratory, 2) the cell-processing licence and its number, 3) a sample Certificate of Analysis, 4) the release limits for viability, sterility and mycoplasma, 5) the cell dose per kilogram and the route of administration, 6) the treating physician's name and registration number, 7) an itemised quotation with exclusions. Thank you.
What each answer should contain is explained in the verification guides.
Frequently asked questions
Related verification guides
- The full verification hub
- How to verify GMP certification
- How to compare treatment prices
- How to identify misleading claims
- Stem cell therapy in Istanbul, Türkiye
Use this on us too
Send these questions to us exactly as written. We answer them with documents, and if something does not apply to your case we say so.