How it works
Five phases, two of which are mostly waiting.
This is the actual sequence, with the durations we have seen and the places where it usually goes wrong. If a provider's process looks smoother than this, they are leaving something out.
01
10 minutes, answer within 2 business days
Free pre-screen
- You
- Answer the questionnaire and tell us the one thing you most need to know.
- Us
- Read it against each hospital's published criteria and tell you whether a paid records review can take the case further. We do not give a clinical opinion or an eligibility decision.
- Hospital
- Not involved yet.
A pre-screen is an administrative check. It is not a second opinion, not an eligibility decision, and it does not replace your haematologist.
02
5 business days from complete records
Records and written review
- You
- Send discharge summaries, pathology, imaging reports, and the current treatment plan. We give you a checklist.
- Us
- Organise and translate the record, check it for completeness against each hospital's published intake criteria, and prepare the submission. Clinical opinions and eligibility decisions come from the hospital.
- Hospital
- Not involved yet, but we use their published criteria and, where possible, a prior case precedent.
If the record is incomplete, the clock restarts. Most delays at this stage are missing pathology or missing line-of-therapy documentation.
03
1–2 weeks
Hospital opinion
- You
- Decide whether we may share your records with one or two hospitals, and sign that consent.
- Us
- Submit the case, chase the international office, and translate the answer — including the parts you will not want to hear.
- Hospital
- Reviews the case, confirms eligibility or declines, and issues an indicative cost and waiting time.
Hospitals can decline without giving a detailed reason. A decline is not a negotiation; it usually reflects protocol criteria.
04
About 1 week
Decision and plan
- You
- Decide with your family and your clinician at home. We do not decide for you.
- Us
- Put cost, timeline, visa position, payment route, and the clinical risks on one page. No upselling.
- Hospital
- Confirms the slot and issues the invoice.
Prices can move between the indicative estimate and the invoice. We ask for the invoice before you pay anything.
05
6–8 weeks on the ground
Travel, treatment, and handover
- You
- Travel with a companion if you can. Expect the schedule to change.
- Us
- Admissions, interpreting at key consultations, payment support, family updates, and the discharge summary in English.
- Hospital
- Treats. Their physicians make every clinical decision and sign the record.
Complications happen, and they cost money. We help you plan a buffer; we cannot remove the risk.
Honestly
What can go wrong.
Every one of these has happened to somebody. A provider that cannot name them has not been paying attention.
The hospital declines
Protocol criteria are strict, capacity is finite, and a decline usually cannot be appealed. You are out the review fee at most — we refund it if no option exists.
The quote grows
Complications, extra imaging, a longer stay. We plan a 20–30% buffer and we tell you what triggers it before you fly.
Travel fitness changes
A patient who was fit to fly in June may not be in August. The treating team decides, and a delay can cost the treatment slot.
The visa or paperwork stalls
China has no general medical-visa category: most patients use an S2 private-visit visa with a hospital invitation, or an L tourist visa. A six-to-eight-week stay may need extending before the permitted stay expires. We check the route and the extension plan for your passport before you commit, not after.
Language fails at the worst moment
Consent conversations are where interpretation matters most. We book professional interpreters for those, not a well-meaning bilingual cousin.
Coming home is harder than leaving
Handover, medication continuity, and a clinician at home who understands the treatment plan. Your haematologist or GP may decline to take over follow-up of a treatment they did not supervise. Ask them before you fly, not after.
Late complications land at home
Delayed neurotoxicity (ICANS), prolonged cytopenias, and infections can appear after discharge. Your local emergency department may never have seen this product. We prepare a one-page clinical summary for them, but we cannot make a local team take responsibility.
The travel policy does not cover this
Standard travel insurance usually excludes travel undertaken to receive treatment. Specialist complications cover is rare and expensive. If you cannot buy it, an extended ICU stay and repatriation are your cost — plan a 20–30% buffer.
Suing a Chinese hospital from home is hard
The hospital is independent and responsible for its own care, but a medical dispute in China is conducted in Chinese, through local complaint channels, mediation, or the courts, and it takes time. We explain the actual routes and help with translation; we do not act as your lawyer.
A research place is not for sale
Under the 818 rules, clinical research may not charge participants. If anyone offers to reserve an “investigational” place for a fee, ask for the approval that permits the charge. We do not sell or broker research places.
The three things families underestimate
Visa, insurance, and what happens if it goes wrong.
Visa and length of stay
There is no general medical visa. S2 (private visit with an invitation) and L (tourist) are the usual routes. A CAR-T admission plus recovery is usually six to eight weeks, so we plan for an entry that can be extended. Extensions are filed at the local exit-entry administration before the permitted stay expires. Overstaying can mean fines, detention, or a re-entry ban.
Insurance that actually pays
Most travel policies exclude treatment abroad by design. We give you a written checklist of the questions to ask an insurer and tell you what we know about specialist products — but we cannot guarantee that cover exists. If it does not, complications and repatriation are your cost. Budget a 20–30% buffer and do not rely on a standard policy.
If something goes wrong in Shanghai
The hospital is responsible for its own clinical care. Complaints can go to the hospital’s medical affairs office, to local health authorities, to medical-dispute mediation, or to the courts. Those processes are in Chinese and take time. We explain the routes, help with translation, and keep the documents; we are not your lawyer and we cannot guarantee an outcome.
Before you start
What we will ask you for.
- A discharge summary or clinic letter from the last six months
- Pathology and cytogenetics reports
- The current line of therapy and start date
- Recent imaging reports (staging PET/CT or MRI)
- Your haematologist's name, with your consent to contact them
- Passport nationality, and who would travel with you
- A realistic budget range, including a buffer
Incomplete records are the single biggest cause of delay. The pre-screen does not require them; the paid review does.
Next step
Start where it is free.
The pre-screen takes about ten minutes and produces a straight answer within two business days. You will know whether a paid review makes sense before you spend anything.
22 questions answered on the FAQ page, including “can I do this myself?”
LukeBridge is not a medical provider. We coordinate records, hospital introductions, and in-country logistics. We do not diagnose, treat, prescribe, or supply medicines, and no doctor–patient relationship is created. Every clinical decision is made by the hospital’s physicians. Full compliance notice.