As Chris (and I) were very privileged to be able to undergo treatments in both hospitals, I wanted to share the information with anyone else considering stem cell treatment in China. These are merely my opinions and impressions based on Chris’ experience and some of the information may not be 100% accurate (i.e. my own interpretation of things). Yet it is what I think and I understood in good faith. As stem cell treatment seems to be one of the few promising options out there and with so much information scattered around the Internet, I do hope this can be helpful to anyone considering treatment in CHINA.

There are treatments offered in many other countries (India, Israel, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Peru, China, Russia, etc). Every website has great case stories and very promising literature. Yet, I am obviously skeptical of many claims and the one source I find more trustworthy is from patients/ families themselves – because we are all in the same boat. I am not selling anything and I have no links with any of these two hospitals. I hope Chris’ experience in China can help in the decision making process of someone faced with many options when it comes to stem cell treatment in China.

Obviously, there are options in other countries as mentioned above which I would not be able to opine on… or NOT YET. I am currently looking into a potential option in Europe for next year – that would make life much easier for us.

Hospital	TianTan Puhua	Beike treating at ZhejiangXiaoshanHospital
Website	http://www.stemcellspuhua.com/	http://www.beikebiotech.com/
Location	Beijing	Xiaoshan
	The hospital is located after passing some very poor alleys/ streets. It was very scary getting there the first day but the hospital itself is gated with security, spacious and very nice. No decent eating places anywhere walking distance, although good restaurants can be found within very quick cab rides. Ability to commute is great as there are tons of cabs as soon as one walks out of the alley. Outside accommodation available only within taxi ride, but expensive in my opinion if one considers the need to be out there for 8 weeks plus. Absolute MUST: eat the famous Peking duck, and go to the Great Wall.	Xiaoshan is a suburb outside of Hangzhou. There is a KFC (and a massive supermarket) just one block away - that’s a life saver. We also found decent restaurants about 15 – 20 minutes walk near (and inside) the New Century hotel. Taxis are not that easy depending on the time, but there are “bicycle-taxis” (literally a person on a bike or motorbike pushing a carriage). The hospital keeps three private drivers with whom one needs to negotiate the fees. Outside accommodation available, actually we stayed in a really cheap hotel 1 block away, can be arranged through the hospital for discounted rate. MUST: go to the WestLake and LingYingTemple.
Stem cell used	Neuro Fetus (derived from fetuses) and/ or Bone Marrow (derived from oneself bone marrow)	Umbilical cord (derived from full term delivered babies)
Delivery Methods	Lumbar: spinal fluid On specific cases: operated into the brain	Lumbar: spinal fluid IV (Intra-Venous)
Minimum time between injections	2 weeks for neuro fetus, 1 week for bone marrow	5 days for spinal, shorter for IV
Treatment time	8 weeks minimum for 4 fetus stem cell injections 4 weeks minimum for bone barrow	3 – 4 weeks minimum, depending on the number of injections that vary from 4 to 6.
Additional Treatment provided / drugs	Daily IV of stem cell activation and proliferation. This was an individualized cocktail (which changed throughout the 8 week timeframe) which was given daily to stimulate stem cell production. See (*) below for contents of what CHRIS received. In addition, Chris received immuno repressive drugs to prevent his body from rejecting / attacking the foreign stem cells. Doctors said though the amounts given were safe and the combination of aimmuno repressive drugs and the two week lapse between injections ensured any chance of rejection by the body.	Anti-allergy drug given prior to injection to prevent allergic reactions.
Therapies provided	PT, acupuncture, massage (OT and SALT is also available but Chris did not “qualify” for those given his low level of participation and awareness at the time)	PT, acupuncture, electrical stimulation of muscles
Therapist team	I can only comment on PT (but not the other therapies as Chris did not receive them): Only range of motion and stretches were offered. I was NOT impressed AT ALL. There is a separate Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor that does acupuncture, cupping, massage, etc. We (I) LOVED the one gentleman who treated Chris… Very wise, calm with a holistic approach to everything.	Chris’ PT provided physical therapy and acupuncture and electrical stimulation, so it was a one-man show. I and my parents (perhaps not Chris though) LOVED the way he worked on Chris: pushing hard and trying things I never saw anyone do. Thumbs up.
Physical infrastructure	Much better here, there is a separate building with dedicated PT room (very big and well equipped), and OT and SALT rooms, and also separate Traditional Chinese Medicine Facility. Also they have in-house MRI and CT Scans and all necessary in-house infrastructure.	Better decorated and more comfortable rooms (in my opinion). BUT, the only area for therapy is a room which I found relatively small. Occupying two floors of a massive general hospital, I think they have access to whatever would be needed in medical terms. The space is limited overall.
Medical Team	I was 100% comfortable, confident and trusted them all. They are ALL neurologists with different specializations (surgery, chemical/ drugs, etc) and work together to come up with an individualized program. In addition to the daily rounds by the junior doctors, there were periodic family meetings with doctors for Q&A and open dialogue. The doctors all knew Chris condition PRIOR to his arrival, the cause of his arrest, his drug charts everything. And they actions showed they knew which drugs to withdraw, which one to add, etc. I understand all reports were translated from English to Chinese and even before I arrived, they were expressing concern about a potential cardiac arrest, how to prevent it etc… this only showed to me, they studied his case carefully.	Not horribly impressed for the opposite reason, no one had a freaking CLUE upon our arrival about Chris’ medical case, why he got his brain injury, nothing. I was asked questions on day 1 like that was the first time they were learning about him. Having said that, I do think they are good physicians, compassionate, caring, and made their daily rounds every morning.
Pricing Policy	One on one negotiations and I know for a fact different people got different deals/ cuts. As a matter of fact, after Chris return my initial plan was to return to TianTan… well, the money lady increased SHARPLY all the prices on me less than 6 months from our initial treatment, and I found it extremely distasteful and mercenary. Also they presented me a bill at the end which I refused to pay as it was not part of the initial agreement I had with them.	Transparent, posted on the Internet for everyone to see so I felt more comfortable with this approach.
Chris treatment cost	As of April 2007: $52,300 for three months and 4 injections of neuro fetus stem cells and 3 injections of bone marrow stem cells. Daily therapy included in the price. Cost breakdown as follows: - $35,000 – 3 months hospitalization - $2,000 x 4 = $8,000 fetus neural stem cell injections; - $9,000 Bone Marrow Stem Cell procedure (extraction surgery, cell cultivation, c. 3 injection procedures for reinserting cultivated stem cells); - $300 x 3 months = $900 for Traditional Chinese Therapy (acupuncture, massage)	As of March 2008: $25,975 for four weeks and included 6 injections of umbilical cord stem cells. Daily therapy included in the price.
Total costs for Chris	Including airfares and everything else needed to make in happen: c. $75,000	Including airfares and everything else needed to make it happen: c. $45,000
Cost of a 24 hr carer	RMB 150 (I think because Beijing as a large capital is more expensive then smaller towns like Xiaoshan)	RMB 90
Translation / Interpreter services	Not readily available. We often had to chase the only girls assigned to deal with patients.	Three interpreters dedicated to 13 patients/ families, always easy to grab one of them from the nurses’ station.
Additional Observations	Mostly adults, and loads and loads of Parkinson’s. I believe this hospital is known for their treatment of Parkinson’s. But many different cases (all exclusively neuro related) come for treatment. ALS, Spinal Cord Injury, etc.	Mostly children, some as young as 7 months old, mostly with Cerebral Palsy, although I met other patients with conditions such as autism, ALS, degenerative diseases.
Did it make a difference?	Yes, without a doubt. Chris is more aware, alert, less hyper sensitive, more emotional. It was worth it because Chris is happier and a bit of himself is visibly more there than before.	Yet to be seen (but as I type this, he just got back yesterday)
Would we go back?	Yes if I felt the hospital’s money people were not trying to screw me by charging me more than necessary.	Yes if I see improvements in Chris in the following months.

 (i) Chris’ IV cocktail program ingredients: Deproteinised calf blood serum injection – energy supply , Sedium ferukate – dilate vascule (veins?) , Human immunoglobulin – reduce immune reaction , Thymopentin – reduce immune reaction , Enoxacin – antibiotic , Shen mai injection – improve blood pressure , Monosialotetrahesosylganglioside – trophic nerve , Gingkgo leaf extract and dipyridamole – dilate vascule , Aceglutamide – energy supply , Shenxiong zhushe ye – dilate vascule