The clinic patients ask us about most. A friendly comparison.
CPI (the Cellular Performance Institute) sits in Tijuana, a short drive from San Diego, in the same medical-tourism corridor we use. We get asked about them often, so here is an honest look at how the two visits compare. Not the cells, not the lab, just what it is like to go and get the treatment.[1]
Everything here comes from CPI's own published materials: their FAQ and a first-hand patient walkthrough. We are not here to run them down. They do good work. The two programs are just built around different ideas of how you should spend your time.
The city, and the drive.
Both clinics are in Tijuana, a short drive from San Diego. If you are coming from the U.S., the trip down looks about the same either way.
The full week.
A longer track record, a partnership with the UFC, and a program built around several days in Mexico. If you want to make a trip of it, that is their world.[1]
The single day.
One day from San Diego, a private car across and back, and your own bed that night. The treatment, without the week around it.
5 days in Tijuana, or 1.
This is the part most people notice first. CPI's program runs across 5 days. You fly into San Diego, cross the border, and settle into a Tijuana hotel, with mornings at the hospital and afternoons nearby. You head home at the end of the week.
In CPI's own words, the 5-Day Protocol bundles "hotel accommodation at the Hyatt Hotel in Tijuana" and "all ground transportation, including full border crossing handling." Five days, handled door to door.
Source: CPI's published FAQ[1]The Celva day is built for the opposite kind of patient: someone who wants the treatment, not a week away. You are picked up in San Diego in the morning, treated by mid-day, and back across the border by evening. No hotel. No second day.
Day-by-day, what each program looks like.
If a few days away sounds good, a hotel stay, time to rest, a trip to look forward to, CPI is built for exactly that, and they do it well.[1] If you would rather get the treatment and keep your week, the Celva day is built for that.
Their van for the week, or our car for the day.
Both programs handle the border for you. Neither asks you to drive yourself across. The difference is how many times you make the trip.
- VehicleA private Sprinter van, per a patient's account.[3]
- RidersPrivate to your party, not a public shuttle.[3]
- ScheduleOut to the hospital each morning, back each afternoon, all week.[1]
- PickupSan Diego on the way in, back to the U.S. side on the way out.[1]
- SleepsAt the Hyatt Hotel in Tijuana, across the week.[1]
- VehicleA private Cadillac Escalade, just for your party.
- RidersJust you and whoever you bring, a spouse, a caregiver.
- ScheduleOne trip across, one trip back. No daily commute.
- PickupSan Diego in the morning, back to San Diego that evening.
- SleepsYour own bed. No Tijuana hotel.
"CPI manages your entire travel experience. You are picked up in San Diego and transported directly to the hospital by CPI's own drivers. During your stay, you will be accommodated at the Hyatt Hotel in Tijuana's restaurant district, a safe, well-serviced area of the city. Your driver will transport you to and from treatments each day."
Source: CPI official FAQ, describing the travel arrangement[1]It makes sense. A 5-day program needs a way to move you between the hotel and the hospital each day, so the daily van follows naturally. We just made a different choice, and the single ride follows from ours.
Who fits where.
Most comparison pages end with "and that is why we are better." We are not going to do that, because it is not true for everyone. Some people are a better fit at CPI. Some are a better fit here. And some should be looking at a U.S. clinical trial instead of either of us.
You want the full week.
- You want to make a trip of it: a few days in Mexico, with the treatment folded into the week.
- You like the idea of a longer reset, with time built in around the visit.
- The UFC partnership and the athlete stories matter to you.
- You have the time off, you want the hotel stay, and a daily ride to and from the hospital does not bother you.
- Someone you trust pointed you to CPI.
You want the treatment, not the trip.
- You came for the treatment, and you would rather not turn it into a week.
- You cannot easily take 5 days off, and a single-day round-trip from San Diego suits you better.
- You would rather keep the visit simple and focused than work through a long list of extras.
- You would rather judge a clinic by the people treating you than by its marketing.
- You would rather sleep in your own bed that night than spend several nights at a hotel in Tijuana.
Two clinics, a short drive apart. One asks for a week. One asks for a day.
CPI built a 5-day program: a hotel stay, a van to and from the hospital each day, and time to make a trip of it. For the right person, that suits them well.
We built the opposite. One day from San Diego, a private car across and back, and your own bed that night. If you want the week, CPI is the better fit. If you want the treatment and your evening back, that is us.
- CPI's FAQ. cellularperformanceinstitute.com/faqs The 5-Day Protocol, the Hyatt hotel stay, ground transportation, and the daily ride between hotel and hospital.
- CPI's homepage. cellularperformanceinstitute.com Location in Tijuana, a short drive from San Diego, and the UFC partnership.
- A patient's walkthrough. Glamour and Gains. CPI stem cells, Mexico The Monday pickup, the Hyatt stay, and the private Sprinter van.