Puerto Rico hopes to boost economy with organ transplants, medical tourism

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For patients in the U.S. in need of an organ transplant, a more affordable solution is just a short plane ride away.

Puerto Rico aims to be an organ transplant hub in the region, as part of its efforts to energize a less than vibrant economy. The move is expected to increase annual revenues from its current level of $80 million to $300 by 2017, according to a Reuters report.  Apart from transplants, Puerto Rico aims to attract patients wanting to undergo lighter procedures such as orthopedics, dentistry, and weight-loss surgery.

The island's organ donation rates are higher than the standard for a macabre reason: Puerto Rico's murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate is 19.2 per 100,000 people in 2014. This translates to a pool of donors mostly within the 18-30 age range.

"The donors (are) victims of car accidents or gunshot wounds to the head, because Puerto Rico, sadly, we have a very high crime rate," said Dr. Ivan Gonzalez-Cancel, heart transplant center director at the Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Apart from organ availability, Puerto Rico is attracting patients from the U.S. because of other reasons. For one, the cost of care is more affordable compared to the mainland. According to Reuters, patients and their families can save on food, accommodation, and transportation expenses by as much as 60 percent.

It's also easy for U.S. patients to have procedures done in Puerto Rico, as the country's transplant centers are part of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a national organ sharing institution.

As Puerto Rico is a geographically-isolated location within the network, there are no long waiting lists. Candidates for a heart transplant, for example, can have the transplant done as soon as a suitable organ becomes available. From 2009 to 2014, patients had to wait for an average of 1.3 months for a heart transplant, compared to the national average of 8.1 months.

Dr. Juan Del Rio, who completed Puerto Rico's first liver transplant in 2012, says that patients should consider Puerto Rico, Del Rio said, "instead of waiting in New York and (waiting) to be really, really sick with a high risk of dying before transplant."

The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients reports that the average waiting time for a liver transplant in Puerto Rico is 3 weeks. Patients in the U.S. would have to wait for more than a year.

But first, Puerto Rico's surgeons must prove that they can offer quality procedures.

"People draw the line at cardiology, (saying) 'I can't see myself on an operating table in a strange land," said Josef Woodman, the CEO of Patients Beyond Borders, a resource on medical tourism.