Updated: 5 days ago
Medically reviewed by Dr. Wang, Medical Editor, ChinaCureLink
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Introduction
For a century, diabetes treatment meant managing blood sugar for life. China is changing that. Its hospitals and research teams are now restoring the body's own insulin production instead of only replacing it.
The biggest shift is in type 2 diabetes. Stem cell therapy is no longer only a research headline in China: it is an approved, priced treatment in the Boao Lecheng pilot zone, open to international patients.
This guide covers type 2 and type 1 diabetes separately. For each, it covers what China has achieved, the approved treatments and real patient results, who is eligible, and how international patients can access care.
What Does a Diabetes "Cure" Mean in China?
Chinese doctors use the term functional cure: the body makes or uses enough of its own insulin again, so the patient keeps healthy blood sugar without insulin injections. For type 2 diabetes, the related term remission usually means an HbA1c below 6.5% for at least three months without glucose-lowering drugs.
That is the standard China is now reaching for real patients. The sections below show where.
China's Diabetes Breakthroughs
Type 2 diabetes | Type 1 diabetes | |
Flagship achievement | Approved UC-MSC stem cell therapy in Boao Lecheng (2026) | Stem cell-derived islets that restored insulin production |
Best reported result | Off insulin for more than 33 months (E-islet patient) | Off insulin for more than a year (CiPSC patient); 30 patients off insulin at one Shenzhen hospital |
Latest approved drugs | Mazdutide (2025), ecnoglutide (2026), dorzagliatin (2022) | Teplizumab (2025) |
Open to international patients | Yes: Boao stem cell therapy and approved drugs | Yes: teplizumab and the Shenzhen integrative program |
Table of Content
Type 2 Diabetes: China's Stem Cell Therapy and Approved Treatments
Type 2 diabetes is where China has gone furthest. It now has an officially approved stem cell therapy, a stem cell transplant that kept a patient off insulin for nearly three years, and several world-first drugs.
Approved Stem Cell Therapy in Boao Lecheng
On January 19, 2026, Hainan's Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone approved Ciming Boao International Hospital to deliver human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) therapy for type 2 diabetes as a clinical treatment. The technology is registered with China's national stem cell clinical research filing system.
This approval matters because it turns stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes from a research topic into a regulated, priced treatment. It was made possible by the zone's biomedical new technology regulations, in force since February 2025, which give new therapies a legal pathway from research into patient care.
How the treatment works:
What it does: UC-MSCs are infused into a vein to help repair damaged insulin-producing beta cells and improve insulin resistance, targeting the root of the disease rather than only lowering blood sugar.
Protocol: the dose is calculated from body weight. Patients receive one infusion a week, and three infusions make one full course.
Monitoring: blood sugar is tracked with continuous glucose monitoring during treatment, followed by long-term follow-up.
Price: 58,000 yuan per infusion of 50 million cells, or 174,000 yuan for a full three-infusion course.
Case Study: A Canadian Patient Treated in Boao
A 73-year-old man from Canada had lived with type 2 diabetes for many years. Oral medication and insulin injections at home could no longer control his blood sugar swings or insulin resistance, and he had developed early complications, including numbness in his limbs.
He travelled to Boao Lecheng and successfully completed UC-MSC treatment, becoming the first international diabetes patient to receive this clinical stem cell therapy in China. He then entered a one-year follow-up program.
Full case study: How a Canadian Diabetes Patient Found Stem Cell Therapy in China.
Stem cell-derived islets: off insulin for nearly three years
Shanghai researchers grew insulin-producing, islet-like tissue (E-islets) from the blood-derived stem cells of a 59-year-old man who had lived with type 2 diabetes for 25 years. Before treatment, he needed multiple insulin injections every day.
After the E-islets were transplanted into his liver, he stopped insulin within 11 weeks and stopped oral diabetes drugs by one year. The results were published in Cell Discovery, and he has been reported insulin-independent for more than 33 months.
Approved Drugs and Their Results
Dorzagliatin (HuaTangNing), approved 2022. The world's first approved glucokinase activator, designed to restore the body's own blood sugar sensing. Result: in the DREAM study, 65% of 69 patients who stopped all diabetes medicine after treatment were still in remission after 52 drug-free weeks. It has been prescribed to more than 200,000 patients in around 2,700 hospitals.
Mazdutide, approved September 2025. Innovent's mazdutide is the world's first approved dual glucagon/GLP-1 drug for type 2 diabetes. Result: in the DREAMS-1 trial, 87.4% of patients on the 6 mg dose reached an HbA1c below 7% after 24 weeks, compared with 10.7% on placebo, while losing an average of 7.8% of body weight.
Ecnoglutide, approved January 2026. A home-grown GLP-1 injection from Sciwind Biosciences for adults with type 2 diabetes.
Who Is Eligible?
Option | Best suited for |
Boao UC-MSC stem cell therapy | Patients whose blood sugar stays poorly controlled despite several drugs or insulin, especially those who still have some working islet function |
Dorzagliatin | Adults newly diagnosed and not yet on medicine, or alongside metformin |
Mazdutide | Adults not controlled by diet and exercise, alone or alongside metformin, sulfonylureas or SGLT2 inhibitors; also suits patients who need to lose weight |
Ecnoglutide | Adults with type 2 diabetes |
How International Patients Can Access It
Through ChinaCureLink (dedicated international patient pathway): after a free advisory call, ChinaCureLink compares up to three suitable hospitals, including Boao Lecheng hospitals approved for this stem cell therapy, and coordinates the rest of the journey for the patient.
Apply to the hospital directly: complete the hospital's online pre-screening, attend an in-person evaluation in Boao, then receive three weekly infusions with continuous glucose monitoring (a stay of around three weeks), followed by long-term follow-up. Patients applying directly manage translation, communication and travel themselves.
Approved drugs: patients book an endocrinology consultation at a Chinese hospital with their recent HbA1c, kidney function results and medication list to be assessed for dorzagliatin, mazdutide or ecnoglutide.
The full process is explained in How to Get Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes Type 2 in China.
What to Keep in Mind
Stem cell therapy is aimed at patients who have reached the limits of standard treatment, not as a replacement for medication in everyone. Experts note that results are expected to be better in early or mid-stage type 2 diabetes, when some islet function remains, than in patients whose islet function has almost completely failed. The treatment is self-paid, and results vary between patients.
Type 1 Diabetes: Stem Cell Islets, Integrative Care and Teplizumab
Type 1 diabetes has long meant insulin for life. China is now attacking it from three directions: replacing lost insulin cells with stem cell-derived islets, calming the immune attack and restoring remaining insulin production, and slowing the disease before it starts.
Stem Cell-derived Islets: Insulin Production Restored
Peking University (CiPSC islets). A team led by Deng Hongkui reprogrammed patients' own cells into stem cells and grew them into insulin-producing islets. In June 2023, a 25-year-old woman received about 1.5 million islets in her abdominal muscle, in a procedure that took under 30 minutes. Within about two and a half months she was making enough insulin on her own. She stayed off injections for more than a year, with blood sugar in target range 98% of the time.
Chinese Academy of Sciences (E-islets, 2026). In March 2026, a Shanghai team reported in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology that it had treated three type 1 patients who had completely lost their own insulin production: a 30-year-old woman, a 45-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, the first child to receive this therapy. The method cuts lab growing time from 40 days to 14.
Integrative Care in Shenzhen: 30 Patients Off Insulin
At Shenzhen Hengsheng Hospital, part of Fosun Health, Professor An Chiying's team has managed 150 type 1 patients from around the world since 2024. As of September 2026, 30 have stopped insulin, and the other 120 have reduced their insulin dose with more stable blood sugar. The team defines functional remission as an HbA1c below 7% without insulin.
The program combines immune calming, gut barrier repair, functional nutrition, traditional Chinese medicine and lifestyle medicine to protect and restore the patient's remaining insulin-producing cells. In September 2026, the hospital launched an international service for overseas patients.
Case study: an 11-year-old off insulin for 21 months. The team's first child patient started treatment in June 2024 while needing four insulin injections a day. The child went on to stop insulin for 21 months, with fasting and after-meal blood sugar, HbA1c and growth all in the normal range.
Case study: a patient from Spain after 43 years of type 1. A 53-year-old man from Spain with brittle type 1 diabetes travelled twice to Shenzhen. He went from four insulin injections a day to one a week, halved his daily insulin dose and improved his kidney indicators.
Latest Approved Treatment: Teplizumab (Tzield)
On September 10, 2025, China approved teplizumab under priority review as the first disease-modifying therapy for type 1 diabetes. It slows the immune attack on insulin-producing cells, giving people in the early stage more years without insulin. Before national approval, it was already available for pilot use in Boao Lecheng.
Result: in the TN-10 study behind the approval, a single 14-day course delayed the median onset of insulin-dependent (stage 3) type 1 diabetes to 48.4 months, compared with 24.4 months on placebo.
Who Is Eligible?
Option | Best suited for |
Shenzhen integrative program | Recently diagnosed patients who still make some insulin (measurable C-peptide), especially children with unstable blood sugar. All 30 patients who stopped insulin by March 2026 had fasting C-peptide above 0.5 ng/ml before treatment. |
Teplizumab | Ages 8 and up with stage 2 type 1 diabetes: two or more diabetes autoantibodies and abnormal blood sugar, but no symptoms yet |
Stem cell islet studies | Patients selected by the research teams; the 2026 study treated patients with no remaining insulin production |
How International Patients Can Access It
Through ChinaCureLink (dedicated international patient pathway): after a free advisory call, ChinaCureLink compares up to three suitable hospitals for the patient's stage of type 1 diabetes and coordinates the rest of the journey for the patient.
Shenzhen integrative program (direct): start with a records review including a C-peptide test, continuous glucose data and current insulin doses. The hospital's new international service is built for overseas families.
Teplizumab (direct): a Chinese specialist confirms stage 2 disease from autoantibody and blood sugar tests. The course runs once daily for 14 consecutive days, so patients should plan to stay at least two weeks.
Stem cell islets: these are run as research studies by Chinese institutes, and the published reports do not describe a route for international enrollment yet.
What to keep in mind
Professor An describes the Shenzhen program as real-world clinical care, not a drug trial. Her team has written up its results for international journals, but they have not yet been published, so the figures come from the hospital. Results depend heavily on how much insulin production remains, and patients must never reduce insulin without specialist supervision. The stem cell islet results come from a small number of patients, and the CiPSC patient was already on immunosuppressants from an earlier liver transplant.
How Much Does Diabetes Treatment in China Cost?
In China, type 2 diabetes stem cell therapy now has an official, published price.
Treatment | Published price |
Boao UC-MSC stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes | About US$8,600 (58,000 yuan) per infusion; about US$25,800 (174,000 yuan) for a full three-infusion course. |
The stem cell course price covers cell preparation, the infusions and medical monitoring during treatment. It is self-paid. Approved drugs such as dorzagliatin are priced separately, and dorzagliatin's inclusion on China's national reimbursement list in 2024 made it more affordable in China.
Patients should also budget for flights, accommodation for about three weeks and a caregiver's costs, and request a written, itemized quote before travelling. A deeper breakdown is in Diabetes Stem Cell Treatment Cost in China (2026).
What to Know Before Travelling
Choose an approved program. Boao Lecheng's diabetes stem cell therapy is officially approved and priced. Patients should avoid clinics offering unapproved "stem cell cures" outside a regulated framework.
Bring complete records. HbA1c, C-peptide, kidney function, medication history and continuous glucose data help specialists decide quickly whether a patient is a candidate.
Keep current treatment. Patients should never reduce insulin or medication before or after travel unless a specialist supervises the change.
Plan follow-up at home. Results are tracked for months after treatment, so patients should arrange how their home doctor will share lab results with the Chinese team.
Arrange the visa and travel early. Helpful guides: Travelling to China for Medical Treatment in 2026 and the China Medical Visa Guide.
How ChinaCureLink Can Help
The fastest way to access China's diabetes treatments is to contact Chinese hospitals directly through a trusted facilitator, so a patient's records reach the right specialists before travel.
ChinaCureLink represents the patient, not any specific hospital. It charges no fee to apply to hospitals, only a moderate fee for on-site support in China. The process starts with a free advisory call. ChinaCureLink then identifies and compares up to three suitable hospitals or specialists for the patient's type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The patient selects a preferred option, and ChinaCureLink arranges a video second opinion with the chosen specialist or hospital. If the patient wishes to proceed, ChinaCureLink helps coordinate the appointment, medical records and translation, hospital communication, treatment planning, travel and in-China support. More on how ChinaCureLink matches each case.
Questions about eligibility for diabetes treatment in China? Chat with the ChinaCureLink team on WhatsApp.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Has China cured diabetes?
China has achieved functional cures in real patients. A Shanghai patient with type 2 diabetes has stayed off insulin for more than 33 months after a stem cell islet transplant, and a Shenzhen hospital reports 30 type 1 patients off insulin. In 2026, Boao Lecheng also approved stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes as a regular clinical treatment.
Is stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes approved in China?
Yes. In January 2026, the Boao Lecheng pilot zone in Hainan approved umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes at Ciming Boao International Hospital. A full course is three weekly infusions.
How much does diabetes stem cell therapy cost in China?
The Boao program's published price is 58,000 yuan per infusion, or 174,000 yuan for a full three-infusion course. Travel and accommodation are extra.
Can international patients get diabetes treatment in China?
Yes. A patient from Canada has already completed stem cell therapy for type 2 diabetes in Boao, and a patient from Spain has been treated for type 1 diabetes in Shenzhen. Approved drugs such as teplizumab, dorzagliatin and mazdutide are prescribed at Chinese hospitals after a specialist consultation.
What is the latest approved type 1 diabetes treatment in China?
Teplizumab (Tzield), approved in September 2025. It delays the onset of insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes in people aged 8 and up who are at stage 2.
How long do patients need to stay in China?
The Boao stem cell course takes around three weeks: three weekly infusions plus evaluation. Teplizumab is given daily for 14 days, so the stay is at least two weeks.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Patients should not change their diabetes treatment without speaking to their doctor. Results reported in clinical studies may not apply to every patient.
References
Sohu. Boao Lecheng approves 58,000-yuan-per-session stem cell project for type 2 diabetes (Chinese). January 22, 2026.
ByDrug / Pharmcube. Boao Lecheng type 2 diabetes UC-MSC treatment technology officially approved (Chinese). January 20, 2026.
Shenzhen Hengsheng Hospital via GlobeNewswire. A new international medical approach aimed at reversing diabetes has officially launched in Shenzhen, China. September 28, 2026.
Shenzhen Hengsheng Hospital via GlobeNewswire. Chinese medical team enables 30 type 1 diabetes patients to discontinue insulin through integrative medicine. March 12, 2026.
China.com. Interview with Professor An Chiying on functional cure of type 1 diabetes (Chinese). June 10, 2026.
Sanofi. Tzield approved in China as first disease-modifying therapy for stage 2 type 1 diabetes. September 10, 2025.
Yicai Global. Sanofi has confidence in China's immunology market, EVP says.
Kumar D, Tanwar R. World's first: stem cell therapy reverses diabetes. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, December 2024.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chinese scientists transplant stem cell-derived islets to treat type 1 diabetes. March 18, 2026.
NewsNation. Stem cell therapy cures type 2 diabetic: Chinese study.
Imapac. Stem cell therapy for diabetes: what China's clinical trial breakthroughs mean for the global biopharma pipeline. May 2026.
Innovent. Mazdutide received approval from China's NMPA for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. September 19, 2025.
BioWorld. China NMPA approves Sciwind's GLP-1 injection for diabetes. February 2, 2026.
Hua Medicine, Nature Biopharma Dealmakers partner content. Advances in treatments for type 2 diabetes: first China and then the rest of the world. September 2025.
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