Is It Safe to Get a Hair Transplant in Turkey? A 2026 Guide for U.S. Patients

Is it safe to get a hair transplant in Turkey?

It can be, at a licensed clinic where a qualified doctor does the surgical steps. The problem is that Turkey also has a large market of cheap clinics where technicians do the operation. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) warned years ago about a “bait and switch”: a doctor’s credentials are advertised, but technicians make the incisions and harvest the grafts (ISHRS). In its 2025 survey, 59% of members said there are black-market hair clinics in their city, and repairs of black-market transplants made up about 10% of their cases (ISHRS, 2025). ISHRS’s position is that any procedure that cuts the scalp is surgery and must be done by a licensed physician (ISHRS).

On the travel side, The U.S. State Department rates Türkiye Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution” (reissued June 2026), and says not to travel within 10 km of the borders with Syria and Iraq; Istanbul is far from both (advisory).

What Turkish law requires since 2023

Türkiye now regulates hair transplants directly. Under the 2023 Hair Transplant Units Regulation and its November 2023 amendment:

• A hair transplant unit may only operate inside a licensed hospital, medical center or polyclinic, with a provincial permit (regulation).
• Only a certified physician may harvest the grafts and open the channels (incisions). Nurses and other certified staff may only implant the grafts, under a physician’s supervision (2023 amendment).
• One physician may supervise at most five procedure rooms, each with at least two certified assistants, and only one patient may be treated in a room at a time (amendment, regulation).
• An anesthesiologist must be present if you are sedated (regulation).
• Every procedure is recorded in the Ministry of Health’s system, with the technique, number of grafts, team names and photos, and units are inspected at least once a year (regulation).

How to check a hair transplant clinic in Turkey

• Health tourism authorization. Since 2025, a clinic or hospital that treats foreign patients needs Türkiye's International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate, and so does any agency that arranges your trip (2025 regulation, art. 5). HealthTürkiye, the Ministry of Health's official health-tourism platform, lists authorized agencies (HealthTürkiye). Ask the clinic for its certificate number.
• Ask who does each step. Get in writing the name of the doctor who will harvest the grafts and make the incisions, and check that doctor’s qualification. ISHRS suggests asking directly: will anyone who is not a licensed doctor make incisions or harvest grafts? (ISHRS)
• Ask how many patients the clinic treats a day and how many the doctor operates on. The law allows one doctor to supervise up to five rooms at once.
• Get the graft count, technique and price in writing, and ask what happens if the result is poor.

Recovery and the flight home

Ask the surgeon how soon you can fly and what to avoid in the first days. The UK government reports that 7 British nationals died in Turkey in 2025 after medical procedures, and reminds travellers that companies booking treatment have a financial interest in it (UK FCDO): do your own checks and talk to your own doctor first. Ask the clinic for written aftercare instructions and how to reach the doctor once you are home.