How Can You Find Clinical Trials Recruiting in China While Living Abroad?
Your family member still cannot lift their arm after a stroke, and you have seen a rehabilitation study involving a hospital in Shanghai. Is it worth going? First check the study record, then ask that hospital: Is the group that fits my situation still accepting participants? You can start the same way when looking for studies of medicines, surgery, or medical devices.
Key points
- If you have a registration number, look up the original record directly. If you only have a disease name, search using the diagnosis in the medical records, then look for hospitals you can travel to.
- Before leaving, ask the specific hospital campus to confirm whether it accepts patients like you, when screening takes place, how you will communicate, and which costs you must pay yourself.
- Continue treatment as directed by your usual doctor while waiting for a reply. Passing prescreening or signing an informed consent form does not guarantee enrollment.
Search by registration number if you have one. What if you only have a disease name?
| What you have | Where to start |
|---|---|
| A CTR number, or an interest in trials of new medicines conducted in China | On the drug trial information platform, select “Trial Disclosure and Search” and enter the full number, medicine name, or indication (the disease the medicine targets), then check the participating institutions. Drug trial search |
| A ChiCTR number, or an interest in rehabilitation, surgery, or similar research | Search by registration number, disease, intervention, or province/city. Check the “Study Type”: observational studies usually only record the course of care. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry |
| An NCT number or a diagnosis in English | On ClinicalTrials.gov, search the full number, or enter the disease name in English, set the location to China, and select Recruiting as the status. Study search |
| Few details, or different titles for the same study | Use WHO’s ICTRP to search across registries by the disease name in English, intervention name, or registration number, then return to the original record to check the details. WHO cross-registry search |
You can cross-check using two suitable platforms. For example, start with “脑卒中” or stroke, then narrow the search using the medical records to ischemic stroke, or add upper limb. If there are too few results, remove the city or treatment from your search and look for hospitals on the study details page.
Once you open a record, how can you tell whether it is still worth contacting the team?
First check the study’s purpose, what each group receives, and who can take part. Early-phase drug trials often examine dose and safety; later-phase trials may compare the treatment with existing care. You may not benefit personally. ClinicalTrials.gov patient guide
For example, searching NCT06722677 finds a study of vagus nerve stimulation combined with upper limb rehabilitation. It sets limits on the type of ischemic stroke, time since onset, and arm function scores, and lists Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, in Shanghai. However, its registry page was updated to Completed on September 1, 2026, so you can cross this study off your list. Study record · Study protocol
If you see Recruiting, open Contacts and Locations and look for the center’s phone number or email under China, the city, and the hospital’s full name. A multicenter study may show an overall recruiting status as long as one center is still recruiting. Note the registration number, protocol number, hospital campus, contact person, and update date. Ask that campus whether it is still accepting patients in the group (cohort) that matches your condition and previous treatment. If only a central contact is listed, give the registration number and hospital’s full name and ask to be connected to that hospital’s study coordinator. Active, not recruiting means the study is ongoing but has stopped accepting new participants. Unknown means you need to check with the team. Status definitions
What is enough to send when you first contact the hospital?
I would like to ask about [registration number, hospital, and campus]. The patient lives in [country or region], is [age], and has been diagnosed with [condition, subtype, or stage]. They received [treatment] on [date] and currently have/use [medicines, symptoms, or level of mobility]. Is this cohort still accepting patients from abroad? Can you review the medical records remotely first? We use [language]; how can we communicate? Please let us know which reports you need, how to send them, and when we can expect a reply.
Send a one-page medical summary and relevant original reports through the channel specified by the hospital. For a patient with stroke, include the date of onset, the affected side, and a recent assessment of function. For a patient with cancer, include the pathological subtype, stage, whether the lesions can be measured, the methods used for biomarker testing, and the dates, results, and reasons for stopping each previous treatment. Note any significant coexisting conditions, infections, or organ function problems. Write “not tested” for anything that has not been tested. Send DICOM files later if the hospital needs the original medical images. Do not send passports or complete medical records in group chats.
What happens after the hospital says you can come for screening?
Prescreening uses existing medical records; first ask which reports from outside China can be used. Formal screening may require an in-person consultation, blood tests, or repeat imaging or pathology tests. Before any tests done specifically for the study, the team should explain them in a language you understand and obtain your informed consent. After screening, the team determines whether you can enroll based on the protocol. Measures for Ethical Review
Before signing, you can ask: “What treatments are available if I do not take part? Which group might I be randomly assigned to, and will a placebo or a sham procedure be used? What are the risks in each group, and will I need contraception? How long will it take? Who can access my medical records and samples?” You can refuse to take part or withdraw during the study.
If the protocol requires a “washout period,” ask the study doctor to explain exactly which treatment must be stopped and for how long. Then ask your usual treating doctor to assess whether you can safely wait. Do not stop medicines or delay treatment on your own.
What costs and travel arrangements should you clarify before booking tickets?
For research covered by China’s Measures for Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Human Participants, participants must not be charged research-related fees, and reasonable expenses incurred through participation should be appropriately compensated. Ask the center and ethics committee to explain which rules apply to the project and provide a written breakdown of who pays for routine medicines, hospital stays, interpreting, transport, and accommodation. Do not assume all expenses will automatically be reimbursed. Article 17 of the Measures for Ethical Review
Agree on a screening date and the expected length of stay, and clarify how many times you must return to China for follow-up and which tests can be done where you live, before buying tickets that are difficult to change or refund. Keep the center’s emergency phone number, and agree with your usual treating doctor on who will prescribe medicines and monitor adverse reactions after you return home.
Frequently asked questions
Two websites show different recruitment statuses. Which should I trust?
Compare the sponsor, protocol number, intervention, and hospital to confirm that they refer to the same study. Send both links and their update dates to the hospital campus you want to attend. Wait for that campus to confirm that your cohort still has places before arranging screening.
The hospital only replied, “You are welcome to come to the outpatient clinic.” Can I book tickets?
First ask whether the appointment is for a regular outpatient consultation or study screening, and whether interpreting and informed consent materials are available in the language you need. If you continue to receive no reply, look for the department conducting the research on the hospital’s official website.
What can I do if I do not pass screening at the hospital?
Ask why and request your test results. If the cohort is full, ask whether other centers are still recruiting. If your condition does not meet the criteria, take the results to your usual treating doctor to plan further treatment or rehabilitation.
In a drug trial, who pays for the study medicine and tests?
For drug trials conducted to develop medicines and approved by or filed with China’s national drug regulatory authority, the sponsor must provide the study medicine free of charge and pay for trial-related medical tests. The sponsor is also responsible for the costs of diagnosing and treating trial-related harm, and the corresponding compensation or damages. Before signing, ask where to seek care if you feel unwell, how trial-related harm is determined, and how to request that it be addressed. Articles 2 and 45 of Good Clinical Practice for Drug Trials
If I do not pass screening, can I still receive help with travel costs?
Before leaving, ask the center to state in writing whether financial assistance is still available if you do not pass screening, how much it is, and which receipts you need to keep. Then calculate how much you will need to pay yourself.
If I want to withdraw from the study, who should I contact to arrange ongoing care?
For research covered by China’s Measures for Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Human Participants, participants or their guardians may withdraw unconditionally at any stage. Withdrawal does not depend on completing follow-up. You can discuss a safe handover and further treatment with the study doctor, then confirm follow-up appointments with your usual treating doctor. If you have questions about participants’ rights and interests, ask the research team for the ethics committee’s contact details.
Someone is using a real registration number to charge a “reservation fee.” What should I do?
Do not pay yet. Contact the research team yourself using the registry page or the hospital’s official website to check whether the person introducing the study is authorized and what the fee covers. Pause the process if someone guarantees enrollment or treatment results, pressures you to stop medicines before consulting a doctor, or presents self-funded commercial treatment as a trial. ClinicalTrials.gov patient FAQs
Sources
Searches and the example were checked on November 6, 2026. For each registry’s coverage and search methods, see the drug trial platform guide · WHO data sources · ICTRP search tips. The revised Good Clinical Practice for Drug Trials cited in this guide took effect on September 1, 2026. Joint announcement by four authorities