The Pro-Medical Tourism Stance of Malaysia and How it Affects Stem Cell Tourism Industry

Developing countries like India, Thailand, and Malaysia are promoting medical tourism as a commodity, generating income through their economic trade contributing to their national revenue. However, there is no legal framework formulated within these countries to regulate its medical tourism industry. In Malaysia, the current legislation that regulates the private health care facilities is not enough to cover all avenues of medical tourism, especially since the industry largely implicates the private sector. Hence, we aim to explore the consequences of the pro-medical tourism stance of Malaysia and its impact toward stem cell tourism. The in-depth interviews of Malaysian policymakers and the systematic review of academic articles and government documents revealed that the current legislation in Malaysia neglects many areas within medical tourism namely medical visa, insurance, and medical extradition that protects the wellbeing of tourists. The deficiency in the absence of a specific law or policy cultivates stem cell tourism that remains generally unregulated plagued with many ethical exploitations, judging by the pro-medical tourism stance.

Online marketing practices of regenerative medicine clinics in US-Mexico border region: a web surveillance study

Introduction The potential of regenerative medicine to improve human health has led to the rapid expansion of stem cell clinics throughout the world with varying levels of regulation and oversight. This has led to a market ripe for stem cell tourism, with Tijuana, Mexico, as a major destination. In this study, we characterize the online marketing, intervention details, pricing of services, and assess potential safety risks through web surveillance of regenerative medicine clinics marketing services in Tijuana. Methods We conducted structured online search queries from March to April 2019 using 296 search terms in English and Spanish on two search engines (Google and Bing) to identify websites engaged in direct-to-consumer advertising of regenerative medicine services. We performed content analysis to characterize three categories of interest: online presence, tokens of scientific legitimacy, and intervention details. Results Our structured online searches resulted in 110 unique websites located in Tijuana corresponding to 76 confirmed locations. These clinics’ online presence consisted of direct-to-consumer advertising mainly through a dedicated website (94.5%) or Facebook page (65.5%). The vast majority of these websites (99.1%) did not mention any affiliation to an academic institutions or other overt tokens of scientific legitimacy. Most clinics claimed autologous tissue was the source of treatments (67.3%) and generally did not specify route of administration. Additionally, of the Tijuana clinics identified, 13 claimed licensing, though only 1 matched with available licensing information. Conclusions Regenerative medicine clinics in Tijuana have a significant online presence using direct-to-consumer advertising to attract stem-cell tourism clientele in a bustling border region between Mexico and the USA. This study adds to existing literature evidencing the unregulated nature of online stem cell offerings and provides further evidence of the need for regulatory harmonization, particularly to address stem cell services being offered online across borders.

Multiorgan failure with fatal outcome after stem cell tourism

Background Unproven stem cell treatments may involve serious health, personal, and financial considerations. Due to worldwide spread, illegal stem cell therapies have become a major public health problem. We have already witnessed numerous reports in the mass media of severe and occasionally even fatal outcomes after such therapies. However, there are only few scientifically documented cases in which the causality between stem cell therapy and side effects cannot be refuted. Case presentation Here we present a case report of a 48-year-old patient with serious side effects, including disseminated skin ulcers, hepatitis, and cardiomyopathy, with eventual fatal outcome following unproven stem cell treatment. Conclusions The case of the patient presented here draws attention to the worst possible outcome of stem cell tourism. To effectively combat this issue, professionals and patients should be empowered with the right knowledge on possible side effects.

Multiorgan failure with fatal outcome after stem cell tourism

Background: unproven stem cell treatments may involve serious health, personal and financial considerations. Due to worldwide spread, illegal stem cell therapies have become a major public health problem. We have already witnessed numerous reports in the mass media of severe and occasionally even fatal outcomes after such therapies. However, there are only few scientifically documented cases in which the causality between stem cell therapy and side effects cannot be refuted. Case presentation: here we present a case report of a 48-years old patient with serious side effects including disseminated skin ulcers, hepatitis and cardiomyopathy with eventual fatal outcome following unproven stem cell treatment. Conclusions: the case of the patient presented here draws attention to the worst possible outcome of stem cell tourism. To effectively combat this issue, professionals and patients should be empowered with the right knowledge on possible side effects.

Multiorgan failure with fatal outcome after stem cell tourism

Background: unproven stem cell treatments may involve serious health, personal and financial considerations. Due to worldwide spread, illegal stem cell therapies have become a major public health problem. We have already witnessed numerous reports in the mass media of severe and occasionally even fatal outcomes after such therapies. However, there are only few scientifically documented cases in which the causality between stem cell therapy and side effects cannot be refuted. Case presentation: here we present a case report of a 48-years old patient with serious side effects including disseminated skin ulcers, hepatitis and cardiomyopathy with eventual fatal outcome following unproven stem cell treatment. Conclusions: the case of the patient presented here draws attention to the worst possible outcome of stem cell tourism. To effectively combat this issue, professionals and patients should be empowered with the right knowledge on possible side effects.

Multiorgan failure with fatal outcome after stem cell tourism

Background: unproven stem cell treatments may involve serious health, personal and financial considerations. Due to worldwide spread, illegal stem cell therapies have become a major public health problem. We have already witnessed numerous reports in the mass media of severe and occasionally even fatal outcomes after such therapies. However, there are only few scientifically documented cases in which the causality between stem cell therapy and side effects cannot be refuted.Case presentation: here we present a case report of a 48-years old patient with serious side effects including disseminated skin ulcers, hepatitis and cardiomyopathy with eventual fatal outcome following unproven stem cell treatment.Conclusions: the case of the patient presented here draws attention to the worst possible outcome of stem cell tourism. To effectively combat this issue, professionals and patients should be empowered with the right knowledge on possible side effects.