Stem cell therapy in Thailand.

Is stem cell therapy legal in Thailand?

Only for accepted treatments, or inside approved research. A Medical Council of Thailand regulation from 2009 says doctors may use stem cell transplants only where research has made them a standard treatment. Using them before that counts as an ethics breach, with penalties from a warning to losing the licence to practise.^[1]

Cell products are treated as medicines. In May 2026 a ministerial decree classed stem cell and cell-based therapies as medicines under Thai law.^[2] The Thai FDA says any cell or gene therapy sold commercially must be registered, and the labs that make them must meet manufacturing standards.^[3]

The research sandbox

The Thai FDA runs a sandbox that lets approved labs supply cell products for use in patients as research. Named sites include Chulalongkorn University with Vachira Phuket Hospital, and the Department of Disease Control's Bang Rak Medical Centre in Bangkok.^[3]

Treatment outside the sandbox, at a private clinic charging for stem cells, is not covered by it. That puts most commercial stem cell clinics in a grey area, as in Panama.

How to check a clinic yourself

Questions to ask a clinic in Thailand

1. Is this treatment part of the Thai FDA sandbox? If not, under what approval is it given?
2. Which lab makes the cells, and is it licensed by the Thai FDA?
3. Can I see the certificate for my batch, with the cell count and sterility tests?
4. What are the treating doctor's name and Medical Council licence number?
5. What does the price include, and what costs extra?
6. Who follows me up after I fly home?