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

Abstract

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.