The University of Chicago Medical Center has courted international transplant patients through advertisements and made deals with foreign governments. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times).
More than 100,000 people in the United States are in need of a transplant, and each year thousands die waiting. But despite the shortage of organs, some American hospitals are aggressively courting international transplant patients …
They have advertised abroad, promoting short wait times and concierge services, particularly to patients in the Middle East, where about two-thirds of overseas transplant recipients are from. Several hospitals have signed contracts with foreign governments, setting prices for different organ transplants.
An international transplant patient can bring in as much as $2 million — far more than a U.S. patient paying through private insurance or a public program like Medicare.
Source: New York Times