I found a cell therapy program for progressive pulmonary fibrosis in China. Has anyone looked into this?

I’ve been going down a rabbit hole researching treatment options for progressive pulmonary fibrosis / fibrotic ILD, especially for people whose disease continues to progress despite conventional treatment.

I came across something in China that I honestly hadn’t seen discussed much here, and I’m curious whether anyone in this community has looked into it.

It’s a hospital-based cell therapy program using mesenchymal stem cells for progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease (PF-ILD).

What caught my attention is that this doesn’t appear to be one of those vague “stem cell clinics” that simply claims stem cells can cure everything.

The program I found actually has defined eligibility criteria.

From the materials I’ve been reading, patients are screened based on things like:

- confirmed interstitial lung disease

- evidence of progressive fibrosis despite conventional treatment

- stable condition before treatment

- FVC above a certain threshold

- DLCO above a certain threshold

- CT imaging and pulmonary function testing

The treatment protocol itself involves three IV cell infusions given over several days, followed by pulmonary function tests, HRCT and other follow-up assessments over the following months.

What interested me even more is the theory behind it.

The goal does not seem to be simply symptom relief. The proposed mechanism is related to reducing inflammatory signaling and fibrotic activity, including effects on fibroblast activity and collagen deposition.

Obviously, that sounds very different from saying it has been proven to “cure” pulmonary fibrosis.

And that’s where I’m trying to separate the science from the marketing.

I’ve also seen that cell therapies related to pulmonary fibrosis are still viewed very cautiously in many countries, and I know there are plenty of questionable stem cell clinics making huge promises.

So I’m NOT posting this as “I found the cure.”

I’m genuinely trying to understand whether this represents a meaningful investigational treatment option or whether the evidence is still too early.

The Chinese program I found is being conducted through a hospital setting rather than what looks like a standalone wellness clinic, and they appear to have actual screening criteria, monitoring, follow-up and exclusion criteria.

They even specifically exclude some patients because of things like severe organ failure, malignancy history and other medical risks, which at least makes it look more like a medical protocol than “pay us and we’ll inject anyone.”

Has anyone here:

1. looked into MSC/cell therapy for pulmonary fibrosis?

2. participated in a legitimate clinical program?

3. seen pulmonary function or HRCT changes after treatment?

4. researched programs in China specifically?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have actually investigated this seriously, including people who decided NOT to do it.

I’m trying to understand where the real evidence ends and the hope begins.