Neil Riordan, PA, PhD, explains the impact of stem cells on medicine and lives in his best-selling book, Stem Cell Therapy: A Rising Tide: How Stem Cells Are Disrupting Medicine and Transforming Lives. In his book, he details the process of discovering Golden Cells™ and the benefit of introducing them to patients during stem cell therapy. We share that journey in this blog, showing what it took to bring this discovery to the public so thousands of patients can enjoy the benefits.
A Scientific Breakthrough in Stem Cell Therapy
At the Stem Cell Institute in Panama, our mission has always been to improve lives through advanced stem cell science. After years of rigorous research and the successful treatment of thousands of patients, our team of scientists and lab specialists made a groundbreaking discovery: certain stem cell lots consistently led to exceptional clinical results.
Through a detailed retrospective analysis, we identified a direct link between specific lots of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord tissue (hUC-MSCs) and outstanding patient outcomes.
Then, we conducted an extensive molecular screening of cell samples linked to our most successful patient cases, compared those cells to cell lots of moderately successful cases and to fibroblasts, which have no activity at all. Using high-throughput analysis of over 1,100 molecules, we found a distinctive protein expression pattern shared only by the most effective cell lots. These characteristics were confirmed to be preserved and even enhanced when grown using 3D culture systems.
These uniquely effective cells—developed through our proprietary isolation and culture protocols—possess exceptional molecular characteristics. Their ability to secrete key regenerative and immunomodulatory factors makes them more potent in driving successful treatments. We call them Riordan Golden Cells™.
This discovery has enabled us to screen all incoming umbilical cord tissue, and with our proprietary techniques, isolate and select the best cells which need to pass our quality control criteria to be Golden Cells™. These controlled processes happen in our in-house laboratory, Medistem Panama, fully licensed by the Panama Ministry of Health to harvest, process, and store stem cells. It adheres to GMP standards. It is a state-of-the-art 11,000-square-foot facility, ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2015-certified Laboratory.
What We Discovered
“This is the first time in history that anyone has been able to retrospectively analyze which MSCs have more benefit. I like to say that an MSC is not an MSC. They are not all created equal. If you are picking a basketball team, would you want me on your team or LeBron James, possibly the best basketball player of all time? We are both humans, but our abilities on the court are not equal. It’s the same with MSCs. Some perform better than others. That’s why we’ve been working to select the best cells for use in patients with chronic disease. Now we can
retrospectively analyze existing data on outcomes. We are the only stem cell company with the data to do that.”
– Neil Riordan, PA, PhD, Stem Cell Therapy: A Rising Tide: How Stem Cells Are Disrupting Medicine and Transforming Lives
Transforming Lives with Golden Cells™
With more than 55,000 procedures performed since 2008, the Stem Cell Institute continues to be a global leader in regenerative medicine. Our medical team prioritizes the health and well-being of all our patients through top-notch stem cell treatment and care. Whether you’re managing a chronic condition, recovering from injury, or seeking anti-aging support, our therapies—powered by Golden Cells™—are designed to deliver meaningful results.
Golden Cells™ are not just better—they’re different. Using advanced screening and decades of clinical insight, we isolate these high-performing cells to serve as the foundation of our therapies. Every treatment protocol at the Stem Cell Institute is built around Golden Cells™, giving our patients access to the most effective stem cells available today.
Are you interested in learning what stem cell therapy may be able to do for you? Start your application.
*This post has been updated since it was originally published in August 2021 for clarity and comprehensiveness
