Kidney Foundation urges support for Living Donor Protection Act
SALISBURY, Md. – The National Kidney Foundation is looking for support in passing the Living Donor Protection Act. Right now 31 states have passed their own measure, but officials believe passing it nationally would help encourage more people to take part in living donation.
“Per year, across the U.S., roughly 25-30,000 kidney transplants are done all across the country; only about 6000 of those are done utilizing a living donor,” says Nicole Scharf, with the National Kidney Foundation. “That number’s very, very lopsided.”
If passed, the Act would make sure that living donors are covered through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for recovery from their surgery. Plus it would also protect them from any sort of discrimination as it relates to insurance.
“Statistics are showing us that one in four people who have donated an organ have been affected negatively in some way by trying to apply for life insurance post-donation,” says Scharf. “Either they’re being denied or they’re being charged an increased premium because the school of thought for the insurance company is possibly this person’s at a higher risk so we’re going to charge them more or not cover them at all, which is actually in truth the opposite.”
Scharf, with the Kidney Foundation here in Salisbury, is also a living donor herself. She was part of a ten person donation chain about four years ago. She says you can live your life just as healthy as you were before the donation.
“Living donors go through a very rigorous schedule to be tested to see if they are even a candidate, so these are the healthiest of the healthy. These aren’t people that are sick with other things, because if you’re sick with other things, you’re going to get disqualified almost immediately out of the gate when you apply to be an organ donor,” explains Scharf.
Officials say about 12 to 13 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. They hope increased protections will help raise awareness on living donation. For more information on the living donor protection act and how to get involved click here.
