Stem Cell Consultation for Erectile Dysfunction: What to Expect at Nordic Stem Cell

If you've already tried ED medication, a vacuum device, or injections and still want something more, it's natural to wonder whether a consultation is worth your time, and whether it could lead to a trip. Erectile dysfunction (ED) wears on confidence and closeness, and after years of workarounds, hope can come with some caution.

This guide explains what a stem cell consultation at Nordic Stem Cell involves, who it is meant for, what the research behind the Nordic Method shows, and what happens if treatment moves forward. The first step is a free, confidential eligibility questionnaire, followed by a one-on-one video call with one of Nordic's doctors, and neither commits you to anything.

What Is a Stem Cell Consultation for Erectile Dysfunction?

A stem cell consultation for ED at Nordic Stem Cell is a one-on-one video call with one of Nordic's doctors, held after a short eligibility questionnaire. The doctor goes through your history, surgical details, erectile function, and overall health to find out whether the Nordic Method is a reasonable option for you, and records a baseline score on the IIEF-5, a five-question survey doctors use to rate ED. The aim is a straight answer, whether that answer is yes or no.

What Happens at the Consultation?

Step 1: The Eligibility Questionnaire

The eligibility questionnaire covers your surgical history, continence (whether you've regained bladder control after surgery), and overall health. It is free, confidential, and takes a few minutes, and nothing about it requires you to go further.

Step 2: Booking Your Video Call

Once the questionnaire is complete, a Calendly link lets you choose a time for a one-on-one video call with one of Nordic's doctors.

Step 3: The Video Call With a Doctor

The doctor goes through your medical history and ED history in detail, including which treatments you've already tried. For men who have had prostate surgery, the conversation covers surgical details and continence. Your erectile function is scored with the IIEF-5, which gives you and the care team a clear starting point, and later follow-up scores are measured against it, so progress is tracked and not guessed. Depending on age and health, cardiovascular screening and lab work may follow.

Step 4: A Plain Answer

The call ends with a clear answer about whether treatment makes sense. Some men are advised against it, and that is sometimes the safest and most responsible result. A definite answer in either direction can save months of wondering.

Who Is a Good Candidate for the Nordic Method?

The evidence differs by cause of ED, so each group is described separately.

Men After Prostate Surgery

This is the group the Nordic Method was developed and studied for. The Danish trial behind it enrolled continent men with severe ED after radical prostatectomy, and all had already tried conventional treatment without enough benefit. Many men reading this are in that situation: ED medication, a pump, or injections haven't given lasting results, and they want to know whether anything acts on the nerve and blood vessel damage itself.

Men With Diabetes-Related ED

Diabetes damages the nerves and blood vessels erections depend on, and the Nordic Method acts on those same two systems. There is no diabetes-specific outcome data for the Nordic Method yet, so results in men with diabetes can't be assumed to match those in the trial, and Nordic Stem Cell evaluates each case individually.

Men With Age-Related ED

Age-related ED often comes from gradual changes in blood vessels and nerves. The mechanism fits, but no trial has measured results for age-related ED, and dedicated trials are planned. There is no strict age limit, since overall health, heart health, and suitability for a minor surgical procedure matter far more than age.

Who May Not Be a Candidate

Nordic Stem Cell doesn't treat men with active cancer or certain serious heart conditions, and bleeding disorders or infections that raise surgical risk can also rule treatment out. Men whose ED is mainly psychological or caused by a medication may not benefit. Outcomes are less favorable with scarring in the penile tissue, incontinence, or more than three years without erectile function, with or without medication.

What Does the Research Behind the Nordic Method Show?

The Nordic Method comes from a Phase 1 clinical trial at Odense University Hospital in Denmark, approved by the Danish Medicines Agency, and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT02240823. It studied 17 men with ED after radical prostatectomy, enrolled 5 to 18 months after surgery. All had severe ED, with a median IIEF-5 score of 7. Each man received a single injection of about 22 million of his own fat-derived stem cells.

Within six months, 73% of the continent patients (men who had regained bladder control after surgery) recovered erectile function sufficient for intercourse, and median scores rose from 7 to 17, which falls in the functional range. At the 12-month follow-up, more than half of the continent patients could still have intercourse. The results were published in EBioMedicine in 2016, with the follow-up in Urology in 2018, and only minor, temporary procedure-related events were reported.

What Does Treatment Involve After the Consultation?

The Nordic Method is a single session that uses a man's own fat-derived stem cells, so no donor tissue is involved. This significantly reduces the chances of an immune rejection. The stem cells act on two processes: the repair of damaged nerves and the growth of new blood vessels.

About 400 g of fat is collected from the abdomen or thighs through liposuction under general anesthesia at CIMA Hospital, which is accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI). The stem cells are separated in the clinic's laboratory the same day, so nothing is stored or banked, and they are injected directly into the erectile tissue under local anesthesia, a step that takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

The treatment day takes about six hours, and the whole trip to Costa Rica takes about three days, including travel. Results build gradually, typically over four to six months. Follow-up consultations take place at 3, 6, and 9 months; progress is tracked with the IIEF-5 score, and a nocturnal erection monitoring device for home use is included in the treatment price.

What Are the Risks and Recovery Like?

The Danish trial reported no serious adverse events related to the cell treatment, but the procedure has two physical steps, and each can cause minor effects. Soreness, bruising, and swelling where the fat was collected are common and usually settle within days to weeks. Infection and bleeding are uncommon but can occur with any liposuction, and general anesthesia carries small risks of its own, which the team reviews with each patient beforehand. That is why the fat collection takes place in a hospital. The injection is brief and usually well tolerated, and the most common reaction is temporary redness or slight swelling at the injection site.

Patients typically travel home the next day, and the clinic gives guidance on recovery afterward and encourages men to keep their local doctor informed.

Where Is Nordic Stem Cell Located, and Who Is on the Team?

Nordic Stem Cell is on Avenida Médica in San José, Costa Rica, inside the CIMA Hospital compound. Juan Santamaría International Airport is about 20 minutes away. The liposuction takes place at CIMA Hospital, and the injection takes place at the clinic in the same compound.

The clinical team includes Dr. Miguel Alfaro Dávila, the liposuction specialist, Dr. Andrés Zarnowski, who performs the stem cell injections, and Stefany Lozada Alvarado, MSc, the stem cell isolation specialist. Nordic Stem Cell is the first licensed clinic to offer this protocol outside a clinical trial.

Costa Rica permits adult procedures that use a patient's own cells, which is why the treatment is offered there, while regenerative cell treatments for ED aren't widely available as standard care in the United States.

How Do You Book a Stem Cell Consultation?

The sooner you act, the better, because erectile tissue changes over time. Outcomes with regenerative treatment are less favorable once scarring has set in or after more than three years without erectile function, so there's no reason to wait.

Booking follows three steps:

1. The eligibility questionnaire takes a few minutes and is completed on the Nordic Stem Cell website.
2. After the questionnaire, a Calendly link lets you book a one-on-one video call with one of Nordic's doctors.
3. The doctor reviews your full history, records a baseline IIEF-5 score, and gives a straight answer, with no obligation at any point.

Try our free eligibility check to find out where you stand

Summary

A stem cell consultation at Nordic Stem Cell begins with an eligibility questionnaire and continues with a one-on-one video call with a doctor, a baseline IIEF-5 score, and a plain answer about whether the Nordic Method fits. The treatment was developed in a published Danish trial of men after prostatectomy, where most continent patients recovered erectile function sufficient for intercourse within six months, while for diabetes-related and age-related ED the mechanism fits and outcome data are still to come. Scarring, incontinence, and long-standing loss of function lower the odds, and being advised against treatment is sometimes the safest result.