How to Check a Bangkok Stem Cell Clinic's License, Step by Step

Short answer: Check four things, in this order: the doctor, the facility, the product, and the research approvals. Thailand has an official doctor search and an official facility search, but on 7 November 2026 our tool was refused by both websites, so we describe them from Thai news reports and a government homepage. Where you cannot get a clear answer from a search, ask the clinic for its license number and a photo of the certificate, in writing. None of these checks tells you whether a treatment helps.

We are an independent guide. We do not check, rate or approve clinics, and we have no clinic partner. This page shows you how to do the checking yourself.

Step 1: Check the doctor with the Thai Medical Council

The Medical Council of Thailand keeps the register of doctors who are allowed to practice medicine in the country. A Thai PBS report from June 2020, quoting the Council, describes a name search on the Council's website. The address it gives is tmc.or.th/check_md.

We could not open the Medical Council website on 7 November 2026. Our tool received an access-denied error (HTTP 403). So what follows comes from that news report, not from our own screen. Open the page yourself and compare.

• What to enter: the doctor's first and last name. The report says either Thai or English spelling is accepted, and the search is open all day and night.
• What the result shows, per the report: whether the person is a registered doctor, the year they finished their studies, and any specialist qualification.
• No match: the report says that if the name does not appear, the person is not licensed to practice medicine in Thailand. Before you conclude that, try other spellings of the name and ask the clinic for the doctor's name exactly as printed on the license.

Ask for the specialty too. If a clinic calls its doctor a "stem cell specialist", ask which specialist qualification the Council register shows for that person. Per the report, the result lists specialist qualifications, so the register is the place to compare.

Step 2: Check the clinic or hospital license

A doctor can be licensed while the building is not. Private hospitals and clinics in Thailand are licensed separately, by the Department of Health Service Support (DoHSS) under the Ministry of Public Health.

The department's Thai-language homepage lists a service called "check licensed private hospitals and clinics" and links to hosp.hss.moph.go.th. We could not open that lookup on 7 November 2026 (HTTP 403, access denied). We found no English version of the department's homepage.

A Pattaya Mail report from 29 April 2026 describes the tool and quotes the Medical Council's secretary-general. According to that report:

• You can search by license number or by the facility's name.
• The result shows the facility name, address, type of license, operator, medical personnel and whether the license is current.
• If nothing appears, or the license is expired or revoked, the facility may not be allowed to operate.

If you cannot use the lookup, do this instead:

1. Email the clinic and ask for its facility license number and a clear photo of the license certificate.
2. On the certificate, look for the facility name, the license number, the type of facility, the address, the name of the licensed operator, and the license dates.
3. Check that the name and address match the clinic's website, your invoice and the building you visit. A certificate for a different name or address is a reason to stop.
4. Ask for the doctor's license number too, and run it through Step 1.

Do not rely on a photo alone if you can avoid it. A photo shows what the clinic chooses to show. The lookup, if it opens for you, shows what the government holds.

Step 3: Check the product

Here the answer is less simple. Thai FDA has an English website with a menu item called "Health Products Search" and a certificate verification page. We could open the English homepage on 7 November 2026, but we could not read the search form itself. The search page returned only its title in Thai. Nothing we opened says that this search covers cell products, so we cannot tell you to type a product name in and expect a result.

What the rules say, from the sources we could open:

• Thai FDA's news item of 9 March 2026 says products for commercial sale must be registered as medicines before they enter the market. It says one imported advanced cell or gene product had been registered, and does not name it.
• Nation Thailand reported on 27 May 2026 that a decree treats products with genes, cells or living tissue as medicinal products. Cells that are only minimally processed stay outside the drug rules and fall under Good Tissue Practice standards. Cells that are processed more, for example grown in a lab to multiply them, count as advanced therapy products, which need pharmaceutical manufacturing standards (PIC/S GMP) and registration with Thai FDA. The article's own date for the decree is inconsistent, so check the date before you quote it.
• Our legal guide covers the wider picture, including the Medical Council's warning that uses outside blood or eye diseases could be unlawful.

What this means for you: ask the clinic in writing what the cells are, where they come from, whether they are grown in a lab, and whether the product is registered with Thai FDA. If the answer is yes, ask for the registration number and look for it on the Thai FDA site. If the answer is "it is your own cells, processed in the clinic", ask who made the preparation and under which standard. A clear, specific answer is a good sign. A vague one is not.

Step 4: Ask about the research approvals

Many stem cell treatments sold to foreigners are still investigational. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), in its guide for patients, says an established treatment is blood stem cell transplantation, and that other uses are tested in clinical trials. Its checklist for patients includes:

• Independent ethics committee review. The ISSCR lists approval from an independent committee, such as an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Review Board, among the things to ask for.
• Permission from a regulator for the trial itself.
• A consent form that states how the cells are sourced and how the treatment is given. The ISSCR lists unclear documentation of the cell source or the method as a warning sign.

Ask the clinic to send you: the name of the ethics committee, the approval number and date, and the consent form before you travel. The consent form should say in plain words that the treatment is investigational and that benefit is not established. If a clinic calls a treatment routine and also says it has ethics approval for it, ask them to explain the difference.

One more point from the ISSCR: being listed on a trial registry such as ClinicalTrials.gov does not mean a regulator has cleared the trial.

What to screenshot and keep

Before you pay anything, save these in one folder, with the date:

• The doctor's name exactly as it appears on the Medical Council result, and a screenshot of the result.
• The facility license number, a screenshot of the lookup result if it opens, and the photo of the certificate.
• The clinic's written answer on what the cells are and whether the product is registered.
• The ethics committee name, approval number and date, and the signed consent form.
• The quoted price in writing, and the clinic's refund terms.
• The emails where the clinic gave you each of these.

A license check is not a treatment check

A valid license shows that a doctor and a building are allowed to operate. It does not show that a stem cell treatment helps your condition, that it is safe for you, or that the price is fair. For what studies have found condition by condition, read our evidence guide. For prices, read our cost guide.

Questions to ask in your first message

• What is the doctor's full name, and what is the Medical Council registration?
• What is the facility license number? Can you send a photo of the certificate?
• What are the cells, where do they come from, and are they grown in a lab?
• Is the product registered with Thai FDA? What is the number?
• Which ethics committee reviewed this treatment? Can I see the approval and the consent form now?
• What happens if I need care after I fly home?