JEDDAH: The Ministry of Health has refused to intervene in the case of an Arab expatriate who admitted to conducting plastic surgery procedures in her home in Jeddah.

The ministry said it would not question the woman if police do not intervene and arrest her.

In a recent interview, the woman admitted to providing injections for hair loss treatment which involves taking a blood cell from patients, separating red cells from the plasma using a specific device and then injecting the plasma into the scalp.

“The cost of treatment at home is not expensive and is competitive with hospital prices,” she said, adding that she also provides skin whitening services through certain medical injections.

She said she also performs several cosmetic procedures at her home, such as lip fillers, botox and hand and cheek fillers.

Despite these statements, a source at the Ministry of Health said the ministry would not intervene if the police do not investigate and issue an official report of the incident, noting that the health affairs directorate in Jeddah would take necessary measures in the case of clients who are harmed from her in-home treatment.

According to Haitham Jamjoum, a consultant in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, platelet injections are very risky when performed at home, and it is questionable how sterilized the instruments used to draw blood and separate platelets are, which could lead to the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis.

He said performing these cosmetic procedures at home raises questions about the person conducting these operations, as well as the materials used.

“There must be a defect either in the qualifications or the materials used,” he said. “Even if the materials are sound, lack of experience can cause serious health issues that cannot be reversed.”

Patients who consider undergoing cosmetic surgery in this woman’s house and are subject to any health issues or abnormalities should keep in mind the difficulty of having their rights protected, he added.

In light of the increasing numbers of people performing medical procedures in homes, he called on the Ministries of Interior and Health to intervene quickly in order to eliminate risks to public health.