Joe Rogan gets his stem cell treatments at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. The clinic was founded by Dr. Neil Riordan, a stem cell researcher Rogan has featured on his podcast multiple times and repeatedly praised as a pioneer in regenerative medicine. Rogan has discussed these treatments across several episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, most memorably in a conversation with Mel Gibson and Dr. Riordan about Gibson’s father’s recovery.
The Clinic and the Doctor Behind It
The Stem Cell Institute operates out of Panama City and offers treatments using umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells, which Dr. Riordan’s team has branded “Golden Cells.” The clinic treats a wide menu of conditions, from joint injuries to autoimmune and neurological issues, using cells sourced from donated umbilical cords rather than from the patient’s own body.
Rogan’s connection to the clinic runs deep. He’s spoken about how stem cell therapy helped his mother avoid knee surgery, noting improvements not just in her joints but in her overall energy and vitality. Rogan himself has credited the treatment with helping him recover from a severe rotator cuff injury without going under the knife. These personal experiences clearly fuel his enthusiasm. On his podcast, he’s highlighted cases like UFC fighter Kamaru Usman, who received treatment from Dr. Riordan (that particular session took place in Dallas), and Mel Gibson, whose father reportedly went from being wheelchair-bound and barely speaking to a dramatically improved quality of life after treatment in Panama.
What These Stem Cells Actually Do
The cells used at the Stem Cell Institute come from human umbilical cords, which are rich in a type of stem cell that can develop into various tissue types. These cells work less like replacement parts and more like chemical messengers. When injected, they migrate toward inflamed or damaged tissue and release a cocktail of growth factors, anti-inflammatory signals, and molecules that promote blood vessel formation. This cascade helps reduce swelling, slow scar tissue buildup, and nudge the body’s own repair systems into action.
One reason umbilical cord cells are favored is that they’re relatively invisible to the recipient’s immune system. The body is less likely to reject them compared to other transplanted tissues. They also have strong immunosuppressive properties, meaning they can calm an overactive immune response, which is why some clinics use them for autoimmune conditions. The cells essentially create a more favorable environment for healing by dialing down inflammation and encouraging new cell growth in damaged areas.
Why Panama and Not the U.S.
The reason Rogan travels to Panama is straightforward: this type of treatment isn’t widely available in the United States. The FDA has historically classified the use of donor-derived stem cells as a biological drug product, which subjects it to the same regulatory approval process as pharmaceuticals. That means years of clinical trials and formal review before treatments can be marketed to patients. Most stem cell therapies using cells from another person’s body haven’t completed that process in the U.S.
Panama and several other countries, including Mexico and Thailand, operate under different regulatory frameworks that permit these treatments. This has created a medical tourism industry where Americans travel abroad for stem cell procedures they can’t easily access at home. A 2022 U.S. court ruling did push back on the FDA’s position regarding a patient’s own stem cells (ruling that using a patient’s own cells in a same-day surgical procedure constitutes medical practice, not drug manufacturing), but that applies to autologous treatments using your own cells. The allogeneic (donor-derived) umbilical cord cells used at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama remain in a different regulatory category.
Risks and Unknowns
Stem cell therapy using donor cells is not without risk. The most commonly reported adverse events in clinical research on mesenchymal stem cell therapies are blood clots and fibrosis (excess scar tissue formation). Fever occurs in a notable percentage of patients. Because the cells suppress immune function, there’s also an increased susceptibility to infection. In some clinical contexts, the immunosuppressive effect of these cells has been linked to higher rates of pneumonia-related complications.
There’s also the issue of viral transmission. While donors are routinely screened for major viruses like HIV, transplanted cells can carry genetic material from other virus types that standard screening doesn’t catch. These risks are generally considered low, but they aren’t zero.
Perhaps the biggest caveat is that much of the evidence for these treatments comes from animal studies, early-phase clinical trials, and individual patient stories rather than the large, randomized controlled trials that form the gold standard of medical evidence. Critics, including stem cell biologist Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis (who runs The Niche blog), have described the Stem Cell Institute’s offerings as “unproven” and flagged concerns about the breadth of conditions the clinic claims to treat. The clinic markets injections for an unusually wide range of health problems, which is often a red flag in medicine.
What It Costs
The Stem Cell Institute does not publicly list fixed pricing, and costs vary depending on the condition being treated and the number of injections involved. Stem cell treatments at clinics in Panama, Mexico, and similar destinations typically range from $10,000 to $50,000 or more per treatment cycle. These costs are entirely out of pocket, as no insurance provider covers experimental stem cell therapies abroad. For someone like Rogan, the expense is trivial. For most people, it represents a significant financial gamble on a treatment that lacks the robust clinical evidence base of conventional options.