Travel to the Land of Health Gurus: Medical Tourism in India

Health Travel to India

India has a proud and ancient tradition of the healing arts, many of which exist and flourish even today.  This tradition of healing, albeit in its more contemporary forms, continues to the present under the modern garb of medical tourism.  India’s health travel strength lies in her immense human resource pool - educated, trained, and hardworking.  As in other fields, India’s excellent education system trains nearly 20,000-30,000 doctors annually, many of whom travel abroad for further studies. This pool of highly qualified and trained doctors has contributed significantly to India’s growth as a major medical tourism destination.  Successive governments have helped develop infrastructure and facilities by easing visa restrictions and funding research in many fields of medicine, and the country’s strong pharmaceutical industry has ensured the availability of cheap, quality drugs. In fact, India exports drugs to more than 180 countries.  All these factors have combined to make India an excellent healthcare provider, which in turn fuels the medical tourism industry. 

Rising Healthcare Costs in the West

Medical treatment costs in India are nearly one-tenth of costs in Western countries.  The purpose of healthcare in the West has become almost self-defeating due to the ever rising costs of healthcare combined with increasing waiting periods.  This has led to people exploring other affordable options, and most are looking to the East where world-class health facilities are available for a fraction of the costs in their homeland.  Chicago based MedRetreat’s managing director Patrick Marseck says “Many people just cannot afford the procedures here in the U.S and the value overseas is so much greater.”  MedRetreat facilitates nearly 650 surgeries in the east. India, due to its brilliant medical personnel, all of who speak fluent English, and state of the art hospitals offering excellent facilities, is the first choice of foreigners undertaking health travel. 

Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT)

Bone marrow is the soft spongy tissue within the bone cavity responsible for the development and storage of blood cells.  Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) is a critical life saving procedure used on leukemia patients. Three types of Bone Marrow Transplantation BMT are undertaken by major hospitals in India.  Backed by critical research, the success rate of these operations is high.  Apollo Hospital (Chennai) is one of the foremost Indian facilities that perform Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) at considerably lowered rates.  The procedure costs $26,000 here, whereas in the US the same procedure can cost ten times that amount.