Indonesia bets on stem cell rules to boost longevity care

Clinics, resorts, and property developers emerge as early adopters.

Indonesia is opening a regulatory window for longevity medicine that could give it an early advantage over its Southeast Asian peers, as permissive stem cell rules attract providers seeking to build preventive healthcare services.

“Indonesia is not only the biggest healthcare market in the region; it is one of the first Southeast Asian markets to allow stem cells to be administered as part of therapy,” Wei Siang Yu, founder and executive chairman of Borderless Healthcare Group, Inc., told Healthcare Asia. “It's well timed at a moment when the longevity trend is exploding.”

Wei said Singapore does not allow stem cell therapy, whilst the legal frameworks in Malaysia and Thailand remain unclear, leaving Indonesia as the only Southeast Asian country where hospitals could legally provide the treatment.

Borderless Healthcare is rolling out its Longevity 5.0 model in Indonesia, pairing local physicians with overseas longevity specialists through virtual consultations instead of bringing foreign doctors into the country.

“We already have Indonesian clinics very excited about implementing longevity, including in the men's longevity as well as women's longevity space,” Wei said via Zoom. He added that resort operators and villa developers are also exploring longevity programmes for guests and residents.

Under the model, local physicians remain the primary doctors whilst consulting international specialists through interactive digital platforms.

Patients can complete blood tests, biomarker assessments, and imaging in their home countries before travelling to Indonesia, with follow-up care continuing after they return home.

“We are selling a continuum of longevity experience that will straddle from before they come to Indonesia, to the clinic, to the resort, and back to home,” Wei said.

The company is initially targeting middle- and upper-income Indonesians, alongside international medical tourists from countries where regenerative therapies are less accessible.

“The concept of longevity management is actually very halal—it's not about cutting some organs, it's about how to preserve the organ, how to eat, how to have mindfulness, and how to improve the health span," Wei said.

Over the next five years, Wei expects general practitioners to incorporate longevity medicine into primary care, whilst hospitals develop specialised services focused on areas such as cardiovascular and liver health.

Resorts are also expected to integrate structured longevity programmes into their offerings, whilst property developers may bundle health services into long-stay residences.

“It's not just buying a home and getting old,” Wei said. “You could almost have your second life... and continue to feel good and reduce your biological age.”