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National Kidney Foundation supports legislation protecting living organ donors
The National Kidney Foundation said it supports the Living Donor Protection Act of 2014, introduced July 30 by Representative Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., along with Representative Michael Burgess, MD, R-Texas, to promote organ donation and protect the rights of living donors.
The National Kidney Foundation said in statement that it believes that in order to increase the national pool of organ donors, it is critical that living organ donors do not bear any unnecessary burdens or restrictions that would serve as barriers to donation. This bill prohibits insurance companies from denying or limiting life, disability, and long-term care insurance and from charging higher premiums to living organ donors. The Living Donor Protection Act also clarifies that living organ donors may use time granted through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to recover from transplant surgery. The bill also directs the department of Health and Human Services to add information on these new protections to its materials to encourage more Americans to consider living donation.
The NKF said it is grateful for Rep. Nadler's living donation efforts and for Rep. Burgess's ongoing leadership on transplant initiatives. The NKF has advocated for these protections for years and aid it is hopeful that this bill will increase the rate of living donation in this country and shorten the national transplant waiting list. Graft survival rates for living donor transplants are consistently higher than those of deceased donor transplants and therefore, passing this bill and increasing living donation will positively impact the health of transplant recipients, the according to the NKF. Increasing living donation also represents an economic cost-savings since fewer patients will need second or third transplants. Living donors are American heroes and the National Kidney Foundation believes they should be celebrated and their actions promoted so more will follow suit and many more lives will be saved, according to the NKF statement.