AFP reports that some Korean doctors are hoping to turn Korea's current position at the vanguard of pioneering stem cell therapy into an opportunity for the country to become a "medical tourism" destination for foreigners unable to find cures in the own countries.
According to AFP, two foreigners have already received therapy at South Korean medical firm Histostem, which has perfected a method of stem cell therapy using umbilical cord blood and boasts the biggest stock of cord blood and stem cells in the world.
With South Korea's medical facilities boasting both high-tech and low cost (relative to treatment in countries like the United States), the potential for medical tourism is high, and not just for pioneering or unproven technologies.
But back to the story at hand. Despite some skepticism over the therapy, Histostem is hoping to build a hospital on the southern island of Cheju-do, already known for gambling, water sports, and volcano hikes. They already have a large plot of land and hope to complete construction by 2007, depending on when and why type of legislation Cheju-do passes to provide incentives for companies to move there.
For those of you who don't remember your high school biology, stem cells refer to master cells found in embryos and other areas of the body that can develop into cells of any organ. Their potential therapeutic benefit has been touted for years, and experts say it is possible that stem-cell therapies may be useful in treating illnesses from cancer to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. But of course, nothing is certain.
Read the article for details on the firm's claimed success, along with critics who say this is not yet proven.
I have to agree with the comment on medical tourism....Korea is RIPE for it....surgeries here cost 1/5th what they cost in the states.
ReplyDeleteI thought of that, too, after my appendectomy. I had planned to be in Nebraska doing some book-related stuff that very week, but schoolwork kept me in Seoul. That was a good thing, because the appendectomy would probably have cost me about five times as much.
I ended up spending 1.5 million won (I have Korean insurance), and it was as high as that only because I decided to stay in the hotel-like wing that was the only thing available the night I checked in. With insurance, it would have been about 600,000 won (March 2001).
One good example is the cost of a Gastric Bypass or Laproscopic band surgery....The Lapband surgery costs around 7 million won (the Roen Y gastric bypass costs less) at least a third of the cost is for the device...the same operation in the states could easily cost 25-50thousand dollars without insurance.
This seems to be a good thing to do for scheduled surgeries or elective stuff, especially stuff not covered by insurance anyway.
Korean surgeons in general are quite skilled. I would have no problem trusting a surgical procedure to a doctor in most of the majore hospitals in Korea.
I completely agree. I was in very good surgeons hands at Yonsei. Same with people I know who did major surgery at Samsung and Hyundai Asan.
The only thing really holding up the show would be the ability of the local doctors and nurses to speak English (or any other language besides Korean) well enough to make a potential Medical tourist feel comfortable.
But the major hospitals and regional hospitals are hiring lots of English-speaking staff precisely to serve the growing number of international residents coming through their doors. I think this part of the problem is well on the way to being solved.
Thailand does it already, it works a treat! (For those of you without free medical treatment...)
ReplyDeleteIndia is already promoting medical tourism by touting its English-speaking doctors. I'm glad to see foreign competition in the field of medical care.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing really holding up the show would be the ability of the local doctors and nurses to speak English (or any other language besides Korean) well enough to make a potential Medical tourist feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteThe government has exhausted all efforts to broaden the field of medical tourism in the country, even including stem cell transplantation in the list of most popular procedures for the realization of the importance of this controversial treatment in the healing of various types of cancer.
ReplyDeleteI was in very good surgeons hands at Yonsei. Same with people I know who did major surgery at Samsung and Hyundai Asan.
ReplyDeleteDepending on what type of procedure or treatment you need, different countries may be more advanced than others. For instance, Costa Rica is well-known for its impressive plastic surgeons while India is knows for excellence in cardiac care.
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