Patients from over 30 countries and 6 continents have made the trip to Panama to visit Auragens for treatment. Beyond industry recognitions, such as being named Top Stem Cell Treatment Center in the world, we still get asked why we have the success that we do. A lot of that story comes from the history of stem cell regulations and how we can safely and confidently create the biologics and facility to enable best patient outcomes.
For more than twenty years, stem cell research has not only been a story of discovery, but it has also been shaped by politics, regulations, and shifting global leadership. Patients often find themselves asking: Why can’t I access the best treatments here at home? The answer lies in the complicated history of stem cell policy. And leads to why we established Panama as our primary headquarters for treatments.
The Road to Today
2001–2002: Restrictions Begin
President George W. Bush limited federal funding for stem cell research to a handful of existing cell lines. This slowed progress dramatically, putting the United States behind other countries.
2006–2007: Political Battles
As Congress debated expanding access, leaders like Rahm Emanuel and Diana DeGette noticed a strange pattern: each time a vote approached, a supposed “breakthrough” appeared, suggesting embryonic stem cell research was not necessary. Science and politics became entangled, and patients suffered the consequences.
2006 Federal Report: A Warning
A U.S. interagency report sounded the alarm: more than 60% of new regenerative medicine companies were being founded outside the U.S. Countries like Panama, Japan, China, and Australia were moving forward, while American leadership was slipping away.
2009: A New Direction
President Obama lifted many restrictions, reminding the country that “medical miracles do not happen simply by accident. They result from painstaking and costly research … and from a government willing to support that work.” Still, uncertainty in the rules created confusion for scientists and for patients and opened a black market that has caused lasting harm.
Today: FDA Crackdowns
The FDA allows only tightly controlled, minimally manipulated stem cell treatments in the U.S. Unfortunately, many private clinics ignore these rules and offer unapproved, unsafe therapies for conditions ranging from arthritis to neurological disease. Patients are left trying to sort out what is real and what’s not and are choosing either a placebo, a lesser effective treatment, or allowing unregulated, unknown biologics to be administered into their bodies.
What This Means for Patients
The decades-long back-and-forth in Washington has created:
❌ Lost time – Years of slow progress while other nations advanced.
❌ Confusion – Different rules for different states and research centers.
❌ Unsafe promises – Unregulated clinics offering treatments that don’t meet basic safety standards and done with zero quality control or oversight.
In this environment, patients have learned one thing: if you want access to safe, advanced stem cell care, you may need to travel to find it. And Panama provided Auragens both the safe environment for our medical process as well as a gorgeous country with over 31 cities in the U.S. with direct flights.
Why Patients Choose Auragens
At Auragens, we have built what the U.S. regulatory climate could not: a place where innovation and safety come together. And one that exceeds U.S. standards for laboratories and still attracts patients from jurisdictions globally that DO allow and oversee stem cell treatments. That is why patients from across the world travel to us, because we have the best patient outcomes and are recognized for as much:
🌟 Award-Winning Leadership – Led by a team of doctors and scientists with backgrounds in the FDA, university health systems, the Dept. of Defense, Fortune 500 companies and with over 100 years of combined experience in stem cell treatments and regenerative medicine. Recently, Auragens was recognized as 2025 Medical Researcher of the Year.
🛡 Uncompromising Safety – Every procedure follows rigorous protocols that exceed global standards. Our stem cells come from a donor program with our physicians working with pregnant mothers as they enter their second trimester of pregnancy, and we are with them through the healthy delivery. At which point we maintain chain of custody of the umbilical cord as it is immediately delivered to our on-site laboratory for our work to begin in earnest.
🚀 Cutting-Edge Science – From space-based stem cell research to therapies for autoimmune, orthopedic, and neurological conditions, Auragens is ahead of the curve and continues to publish our findings to help grow the field.
🌍 Global Recognition – With patients arriving from North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond, our reach is truly international. Because at Auragens a patient doesn’t have to worry, only heal.
✨ A Healing Experience – Often described as “Four Seasons meets Johns Hopkins,” Auragens blends world-class medicine with comfort, privacy, and dignity.
The Bottom Line
Stem cell science has been slowed by politics, regulations, and uneven progress. But there is a place where patients no longer must wait, worry, or wonder.
That place is Auragens. And as regulations change and misinformation continues to swirl, we remain resolute in being the best and bringing out the best in each of us. Which is why people choose Auragens. And why we choose this calling.
