Referral Letter for Visa to India?

[Cburg]

Dear Forum,

I have decided on a Stem Cell clinic to treat my kidney condition in India. It is Chaitanya Stem Therapy Center in Pune India. Dr. Anant Bagul is a respected doctor in the field, and has developed a treatment using three doses of both bone marrow and cord blood stem cells over a 25 day period. He has been obtaining very good results, and the price is only $12,000 for non nationals.
http://www.chaitanyastemcell.com/index.php

In order to obtain an Indian Visa, however, I have just learned that a letter of recommendation from a US doctor is required. I do not think my primary care physician is going to be receptive to the idea of referring me for a non-FDA approved procedure in India. I have sent a request; we will see. I thought I would post this, however, to see if anyone has dealt with this, and if there was a way to obtain such a letter? Perhaps I can reapply for a tourist visa instead of medical?

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Mike

 

[barbara]

Mike - Maybe, your PCP will surprise you.

I looked online and there are some services that make arrangements for treatment. I don't know if they work with the doctor you have contacted but it sounded like they took care of all the details. Did you ask anyone at the center for recommendations of how to get all needed arrangements taken care of? They might have some useful ideas.

If you live in or near a large city and your PCP won't help, you may just need to look for another doctor who would be in favor of your getting treated with stem cells in India.

If you have already applied for the medical visa, it may be difficult to reapply as a tourist at this point. A visa service may be able to give you better advice on that if no one responds here. Sometimes, paying a little extra to have someone take care of such things is worth it.

Please let us know what develops. It is wonderful news that you have found someone you believe can help you.

 

[Harry]

Hi, all you need is a letter from the stem cell doctor India to gain a visa. Get thd letter with flight details etc, make sure thd letter contains your name, passport number and dates of treatment and you will gain your medial visa. All you need is a 3 month single visa. I know this because my friend works at Indian embassy. Hope it helps

 

[Harry]

Btw, you do not need to get any medical doctors in USA involved here as Indian embassy not interested. Also provide medical documents of your condition to support your case. If you need more info, I'm happy to help

 

[barbara]

Harry - This sounds reasonable. I can't imagine that India would want to make it too difficult for patients since they actively promote medical tourism. Dr. Bagul should be able to provide everything for Mike it sounds like.

 

[Cburg]

Thanks everyone! I asked about changing to a tourist visa, and they said OK. They took care of it, and the information has been sent to the embasy. I should know in 7-9 business days.
God bless!
Mike