Medical Tourism

Recently in my own little world I joined up with a group of fellow patients and members of the medical and scientific community to talk about stem cell tourism.  It was both interesting and informative.  The debate could only go to further progress but there are a couple of points I want to make.

First, medical tourism is dangerous.  Normally when you seek medical attention in a western, developed society you can be confident that there are policies and procedures in place to safe guard patients.  When you go overseas you cannot be sure that you can be afforded the same assurances that you receive at home.  Even if you travel to another developed country you may find that the practices are a little different so you have to be on your guard.

After saying that though, if you haven't found the right answers at home looking overseas is a strong option.  You just have to be careful.  You are not going to be afforded the protections you receive at home so you have to be 100% responsible for what you undertake.  This means studying the procedure, the doctor in charge and key medical staff and the facility you are being treated in.  Even a little study into the host country and city and their culture is a good idea.

Unfortunately there are a lot of charlatans and snake oil salesmen out there who just want to peddle false hope preying on peoples desperation in order to make a fast buck.  If you don't do your homework it could be very easy to fall victim to these monsters.  It is also important to note that these underhanded tactics are not just the domain of overseas operators, they can also happen at home so practicing due diligence is important anywhere, just a little more so when you want to go overseas.  It is also important to recognise that you can also receive some of the best treatment in the most unlikely destinations.

The second point I want to make is that I really have a disliking to the name "Medical Tourism".  When I think of tourism I think of morally casual 20 something year olds tearing it up on a European Contiki tour.  Being a tourist is not something you feel like when you seek medical treatment overseas.  When I was receiving chemotherapy in North Western hospital in Chicago I guarantee you that the last word I would have used to describe myself is tourist.  Maybe we could call it international medicine?  Until next time, stay well:)

Tragedy

It is with great sadness that today I am writing about a fellow HSCT patient that passed away recently after complications.  I did not know Gabriella.  I hadn't even talked to her but the HSCT for autoimmune diseases community is still quite small so I certainly knew of her.

However, as an HSCT patient and advocate of the procedure it raises many questions.  Some of these discussion points can be of a rather "sticky" nature but I think it is important to raise these questions and talk about them.  Essentially we need to tackle the proverbial elephant in the room.  My points are:-

• Is the procedure safe and is it worth the risk given the potential benefit?

Personally I feel that given the evidence that we now have available it is a relatively safe procedure.  With any medical procedure, from a simple blood test to open heart surgery there is a risk.  The fact that other facilities offering the procedure have not changed their practices at all says to me that is not the case.

• Is the institution in India to blame?

Honestly I can't answer this.  I have never been to India to see the facility or meet the doctors involved. In fact I have never even researched the hospital so I can't and won't give an opinion.  However, the hospital has shut down its HSCT unit pending an investigation.  I can only think this is a good thing.  Carrying on in a cavalier fashion as if nothing had happened would be negligent. 

• Who else might be to blame?

Blame is such an ugly word.  Blame assumes that someone was at fault and that might not be the case at all.  It could very well be that all protocol was followed thoroughly and her death was nothing more than a tragedy.  I am actually going to use the word responsible as there is not an assumption of guilt on those who are responsible.  So who is responsible?

Now before you condemn me as an insensitive evil pig please read to the end as I will explain myself.  The person most responsible is the patient, in this case Gabriella.  "My Gosh" I hear you say.  "Wasn't she the victim?"  Well, yes she was.  But she was also the one who decided to go through with the procedure.  She would have known the risks and would have weighed up the pros and cons, the risks and benefits and would have made her decision.

I know this because it was the thought process that I went through before I left for Chicago.  I had weighed up all the variable and outcomes I could think of and yes.  The fact I could die did play a part. Some people thought I might be mad.  That I was gambling with my life.  I could not have thought of it more differently.  Sure, there was a choice not to have the procedure.  But that choice involved still having CIDP.  Living with pain.  An inability to move properly and a massively dysfunctional sense of feel and touch coupled with balance issues.  When this is you situation, you start to think very differently about your situation.

In a similar way to me having brain surgery, I went into my transplant with my eyes wide open.  I am sure that Gabriella did too.  I also have to say that if I did die due to my transplant I would not have wanted anyone else to be responsible.  I made the decision and I was prepared to take responsibility for whatever the outcome.  I had even prepared a series of video messages for a variety of people and one of the points I wanted to make was that I was the one responsible.  The last thing I wanted was for people to go around blaming each other for my decision.  And whilst I got the blessing to go ahead with it from close friends and family, as well as past patients who advocated strongly for the procedure, The final decision was mine and mine alone.

• Would it have stopped me having my transplant had this happened to prior to me going to Chicago?

It is a tough one to answer because I have the benefit of hindsight.  I think I would have still gone through with it.  I would have looked at the mortality statistical data for my chosen institution and decided it was the right decision.


It is never easy contracting a nasty auto immune disease like CIDP or MS.  We just have to make the best decisions that are available to us at the time.  I for one believe that HSCT is a warranted and viable option for autoimmune diseases and I would still recommend it to anyone who is in a similar position to what I was.  Gabriella, I hope that you can now rest in peace and I also hope that we can learn from your experience so your passing was not in vain.

Stay well:)