May 20, 2019
Medical Tourism
May 6, 2019
Belgium Passes Law to Penalize Medical Tourism for Organ Transplants
(The Epoch Times) – Belgium’s primary legislative body passed a new bill on April 25 that would punish all parties involved in the buying and selling of human organs for commercial purposes. Violators face up to 20 years imprisonment with … Read More
April 1, 2019
‘This Is What Nazis Wanted to Do’: Aussie Couples Are Spending $20,000 to Choose Eye Colour and Sex of Their Children
(Daily Mail) – Australian couples are spending $20,000 to choose the eye colour and sex of their ‘designer babies’ at an overseas clinic. But critics have slammed the practice, claiming it is reminiscent of ‘what the Nazis wanted to do’. … Read More
March 29, 2019
‘I Had My Misgivings About Going Abroad for Surgery’
(BBC) – Patients Beyond Borders, a publisher of guidebooks for “medical tourists” estimates that more than 20 million people will travel to another country for medical treatment this year, up 25% from 16 million last year. Meanwhile, a 2016 report … Read More
March 20, 2019
Dominican Republic Is Named the Most Dangerous Place to Travel for Plastic Surgery in New Report
(Daily Mail) – The Dominican Republic may be the most dangerous place to travel abroad for plastic surgery, a new report finds. Researchers looked at cases of post-surgery infections over a 14-year period and found that nearly half of them … Read More
March 8, 2019
European Police Seize Illicit Medicines Worth $185 Million
(Medical Xpress) – The European Union’s police agency says law enforcement authorities seized illegally trafficked medicines last year worth more than 165 million euros ($185 million). Europol said Friday that a seven-month operation involving authorities from 16 European countries led … Read More
February 14, 2019
Americans Cross Border into Mexico to Buy Insulin at a Fraction of U.S. Cost
(Kaiser Health News) – Fenner is not the only one thinking like this. The U.S. government estimates that close to 1 million people in California alone cross to Mexico annually for health care, including to buy prescription drugs. And between 150,000 and 320,000 Americans … Read More
February 5, 2019
Romania Investigates Man Who Posed as Plastic Surgeon
(ABC News) – Authorities in Romania are investigating an Italian citizen who allegedly posed as a plastic surgeon in clinics around Bucharest. The College of Medics said Tuesday that it hadn’t issued Matteo Politi, who used the alias Matthew Mode, … Read More
January 25, 2019
Americans Heading to Mexico for Surgeries Returning with Deadly Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug, Health Officials Say
(Newsweek) – Americans traveling to Mexico for cheap surgeries have returned to the country with deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. residents who traveled to and had gotten “an invasive medical procedure … Read More
January 21, 2019
The UK’s Restrictive Surrogacy Laws Are Hurting Couples and Pushing Many Abroad
(CNN) – For Prior, the lack of legal security was her chief consideration in deciding to go abroad: the fact that there was a chance “that somebody would change their mind and keep the child that was destined for us.” … Read More
January 4, 2019
Why So Many Women Travel to Denmark for Fertility Treatments
(TIME) – Like thousands of women in Europe each year, Ryan turned to Denmark. Today, the Nordic country of 5.7 million people has the greatest proportion of babies born through assisted reproductive technology (ART) — while approximately 1.7% of all … Read More
November 15, 2018
36-Year-Old Dallas Woman in Coma after Plastic Surgery in Mexico
(WFAA) – About three miles from El Paso is Rinocenter, the clinic in Jaurez, Mexico, Laura Avila went to for cosmetic surgery on her nose. Something went wrong during the procedure in late October. Family and friends said Laura lost … Read More
October 4, 2018
British Surgeons Warned Not to Perform Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery
(CNN) – UK surgeons were strongly warned this week by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons to stop performing Brazilian butt lifts. The organization warns that “risky” Brazilian butt lifts, sometimes called BBLs, have the highest death rate of … Read More
August 27, 2018
Australian Parents Flock to US Clinics to Choose Baby’s Gender
(The Sydney Morning Herald) – Hundreds of Australian parents are travelling overseas every year to secretly choose the gender of their baby. They are spending tens of thousands of dollars to undergo selective IVF, fulfilling their burning desire to “complete” … Read More
August 15, 2018
America’s Hottest Export? Sperm
(The Guardian) – About 90% of Danish sperm goes to other EU countries, said Karlstad University’s Sebastian Mohr, who wrote a book on Danish sperm banks. One reason the US and Denmark are the heaviest hitters in the global sperm … Read More
July 13, 2018
In Search of a Miracle
(San Francisco Chronicle) – When Luane first considered stem cell therapy for Jordan, she asked his neurologist at Stanford about it. I won’t stop you, the doctor told her, but I can’t recommend it. She knew of other parents who … Read More
July 11, 2018
This Is What Happens When People Travel the World to Save Their Own Lives
(Reader’s Digest) – More and more Americans are heading to Asia, Europe, or the Caribbean to receive the life-saving medical care that they need. Sure, you can save thousands, but medical tourism does have risks. These real-life stories illustrate some … Read More
June 15, 2018
China’s Vaccine Tourists Drain Hong Kong’s Supply of Cancer Drug
(Bloomberg) – Medical tourism has been a great business for Manna Wang, an insurance agent in Shenzhen who’s been helping Chinese women travel to Hong Kong for a vaccine against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. … Read More
May 10, 2018
Nigeria’s President Draws Criticism for Seeking Medical Care Abroad
(New York Times) – President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, who has urged politicians not to go abroad to seek medical care, has traveled to Britain on his fifth official trip to see a doctor there. Mr. Buhari, 75, left for … Read More
May 4, 2018
A Big Medical Tourism Boom? Actually, Not So Much
(MedPage Today) -Remember the excitement around the medical tourism industry? Visions of thousands of U.S. patients heading to India and elsewhere to have medical procedures done at a fraction of the cost in the U.S.? Well, that hasn’t worked out … Read More
April 30, 2018
Jack Nicklaus’ Secret Stem Cell Therapy: ‘I Didn’t Keep It Private; No One Asked Me About It’
(CNN) – On February 22, 2016 in Jupiter, Florida, Jack Nicklaus teed off at his famous fundraiser, The Jake, to benefit children’s health. While he wowed the crowd, as the Golden Bear has been doing for five decades, none of … Read More
April 13, 2018
Americans Going Abroad for Illegal Heroin Treatment
(BBC) – Albert is among a growing number of opioid addicts from the US going to clinics in Mexico to get treated with a psychedelic drug called ibogaine. The drug is illegal in the US, but several studies have suggested … Read More
March 29, 2018
Patients Who Travel Abroad for Plastic Surgery Can Bring Home Serious Complications
(Medical Xpress) -With the promise of inexpensive procedures luring patients to travel abroad for plastic surgery, medical tourism has become an expanding, multi-billion-dollar industry. But while the initial procedure may be cheap, it can place a significant burden on U.S. … Read More
March 21, 2018
Can Electrically Stimulating Your Brain Make You Too Happy?
(The Atlantic) – The authors were asking this question because of a patient who wanted to decide the matter for himself: a 33-year-old German man who had been suffering for many years from severe OCD and generalized anxiety syndrome. A … Read More
February 14, 2018
In Search of Surrogates, Foreign Couples Descend on Ukraine
(BBC) – Ukraine, one of Europe’s poorest nations, is fast becoming the place to go for people desperate to find a surrogate to have their baby. The money on offer is drawing in many young women, but there are fears … Read More
