Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

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Exporter s ' Ins ights

In-vitro (Latin for within the glass) fertilisation is the process by which a woman’s egg is extracted and inseminated outside of the body, and a viable embryo is transferred back to a patient’s womb.

the Government of Barbados and the Administration’s commitment to supporting medical tourism, have been integral to sustaining the Centre’s competitiveness. And inasmuch as the viability of medical tourism is strongly linked to the attractiveness of the local tourism product, the BFC sees the work of government in maintaining Barbados’ competitiveness as vital to the exportability of the clinic’s services. Looking toward the future, trends suggest that the market for BFC’s services will continue to expand. One in six couples, on average, have difficulty conceiving, and with many career women opting to delay pregnancies until later in life, the solutions offered by the Centre are self-sustaining. At the same time, the medical tourism industry is booming, with an estimated revenue of close to $72bn worldwide from a market of 14 million cross- border patients. In 2017 alone, 1.4 million Americans were estimated to travel outside the US for medical care as the cost of healthcare there continues to rise. As the infertility treatment market grows, so too has BFC’s footprint in the Caribbean. In 2009, the Centre responded to increased demand and expanded to Trinidad & Tobago, setting up offices in 2012 within the St. Augustine Private Hospital. There, patients are triaged and

assessed through a process coordinated by the Barbados headquarters, where patients then travel to complete the final process of their IVF treatment. The expansion ensured that the underserved Trinidad & Tobago market — with the second-largest population in the English-speaking Caribbean — could be effectively targeted. In addition to IVF treatment, BFC now also offers women the opportunity to preserve their fertility through egg freezing, opening windows for patients who are at risk of losing their fertility through illness, medical procedures or for social reasons. The Centre also has an egg donor pool, which further extends options for starting a family. For the Centre, these were all deliberate additions to its services suite, as science advanced and the treatment options in the IVF world grew. With all its achievements, the Centre considers its 23 staff members (seventeen in Barbados, six in Trinidad & Tobago) as its greatest asset. Dubbed as the “Dream Makers,” their development and continuous education remains a major priority for the business. BFC’s advice to other exporters is straightforward. As its COO told Outlook, “you have to know your market. Surround yourself with the finest in the business, and be tireless in your pursuit of being the best.”

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