Thailand

John Barnhill

THAILAND IS BECOMING a center of medical tourism, and medical tourism is becoming a significant source of income for the government. Thailand welcomes stem cell researchers and promotes commercialization of stem cell therapies, which at least potentially give hope to those who are otherwise incurable. In 2006, Thailand established a national committee to develop the necessary framework to promote research and development while avoiding foreign exploitation and wasteful duplication. At that time, Thailand already had several organizations working in stem cell research, among them the National Blood Center and several medical schools. The president of the Thai medical council noted that the United States had not yet approved treatment of coronary patients with stem cell procedures because there are no laws establishing appropriate standards or safety procedures. Thai surgeons at Bangkok Heart Hospital successfully completed a robot—assisted cardiac stem cell implantation on October 27, 2005. This was the first time ...

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