List of recommendations

We received some important information from a Neurogen doctor before the procedure. These are the main points they told us:

• Stem cell treatment is not suitable for patients with sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia major, any tumor, carcinoma, or acute deep vein thrombosis.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not advisable for patients with active seizure or ear discharge.
• Patients with Grommet need to get an ENT doctor’s clearance before undergoing HBOT.
• Stem treatment is not recommended for patients who are positive for viral markers like HIV, HBSAG, HCV, or have acute ear infection.
• Patients who have received any blood transfusion need to wait for at least 3 months before the stem cell procedure.
• Patients who have had malaria, typhoid, dengue, chickenpox, measles, mumps can undergo stem cell treatment after 8-10 weeks of recovery.
• Patients who have had hand foot mouth disease, herpes infection, covid infection, tomato viral infection, or scabies can undergo stem cell treatment after 6-8 weeks of recovery.
• Patients who are on any blood thinner medication like clopidogrel need to stop it 7 days before admission date.
• Patients who are on warfarin need to stop it 5 days before admission date and switch to low molecular weight heparin.
• The minimum requirements for the procedure are weight above 9 kg and hemoglobin above 9 gm%.
• Patients need to have a gap of at least 4 weeks between any vaccine and the stem cell procedure.
• Patients need to be free of any cough, cold, or fever before admission, as any infection can affect the procedure.
• Patients with any cardiac issue need to get a cardiac fitness test before the procedure (LVEF should not be less than 35%).
• Patients who have any breathing difficulty or are on BIPAP support are not eligible for the procedure.
• Patients need to share any medication they are taking with us.

Blood & Urine Tests & X-Ray 

They also asked us to submit the following reports for our son before admission, along with a chest X-Ray and a routine urine test.

• CBC
• PT INR
• LFT
• Fasting blood sugar
• Sr. Creat
• Sr. Electrolytes
• HIV, HBSAG, HCV
• Sr. Vit D3, B12
• Sr. Calcium
• Free T3, T4, TSH
• G6PD quantitative
• Urine routine/microscopic
• Chest x-ray (PA view)

They informed us that MRI brain, PET CT brain, and EEG will be done at Neurogen before the procedure.

Travel Booking 

We opted for a 7-day (6 nights) treatment. The admission usually begins on Sundays, but they agreed to let us admit late on that day. We took a 3:00 PM flight from Delhi and reached the hospital with our son around 8:00 PM. You can choose your arrival day according to your convenience and inform the hospital about your timing and flight details.

Hospital Location 

There are two hospital locations: NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute, Stem Asia Hospital & Research Centre, which is a bigger hospital, and KLS Wellness Institute & NeuroGen Annexe, which is a smaller hospital (about 11 rooms). These facilities are about 15 minutes apart and normally the children are moved to KLS for the second week’s activity, i.e. HBOT, etc.

We were assigned to KLS for the first week (maybe because there was no room available at NeuroGen). There are pros and cons of these two facilities. Here are some points to consider:

• KLS is much smaller (only 11 rooms) so there is not much space for the child to roam around, but on the other hand, the staff is more friendly and attentive.
• You can order food from the hospital and the kitchen staff at KLS was very accommodating and willing to cook whatever you asked for. The prices were also very reasonable.
• There is a large park outside the KLS hospital with many slides and swings. I took my son there in the evenings after the third day.
• There is a bigger play area at the larger NeuroGen hospital on the eighth floor.
• Please be cautious about the rooms. Please ask for a picture before you book one. I found out that the same type of room (with the same charges) had very different sizes (almost half) in some cases.

In summary, I think our stay at KLS was good even though we missed the bigger play area, but it was made up for by the large park.