Bill to expand financial support for living kidney donors progresses in Washington
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Key takeaways:
- The Honor Our Living Donors or HOLD Act eliminates organ recipient income from consideration for certain reimbursements to living donors.
- The current cap on combined donor and recipient annual income is $53,000.
Legislation that would expand eligibility for reimbursement of certain expenses related living organ donation passed the House and was introduced in the Senate, according to the website Congress.gov.
Currently, the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program assists organ donors by reimbursing up to $6,000 for incidental expenses related to donation, such as travel, childcare and lost wages. Reimbursement is limited to cases in which the combined incomes of the donor and recipient are up to 350% of the individual poverty level, currently $53,000 per year, according to an explainer document provided by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., a sponsor of the bill.
The proposed legislation — the Honor Our Living Donors or HOLD Act (H.R. 6020 and S. 5504) — would eliminate the recipient’s income from the eligibility calculation.
“Every day, Americans lose their lives waiting for an organ transplant while generous living donors are unable to step forward because of the financial burden it could place on themselves and their families,” Luján said in a press release. “This bill will help remove those barriers, ensuring that if you are interested in giving the greatest gift, they will not have to choose between their livelihood and the opportunity to save a life. By empowering living organ donors with the resources they need, we may increase the number of donors, reduce the transplant waitlist and save lives.”
The bill is endorsed by the American Society of Nephrology and the National Kidney Foundation.
“No living donor should face out-of-pocket costs for giving the gift of life. ... Introduction of the HOLD Act significantly helps us advance that goal by simplifying the process by which living donors may receive support for costs associated with their kidney donation. Any barrier to living donation that can be removed will make a difference for the approximately 100,000 Americans awaiting a kidney transplant, and that is precisely what the HOLD Act accomplishes,” ASN President Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM, FASN, said in a press release.
“In this era of division, the HOLD Act has strong bipartisan support. That says something about the seriousness of the issues living donors face,” Kevin Longino, CEO of NKF, said in a press release. “The HOLD Act will address some of those issues in a meaningful way and lessen the burden on those who want to give the gift of organ donation. Ultimately that will give more patients access to lifesaving transplantation and save lives.”
Text of the bill is available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6020/text.
References:
American Society of Nephrology commends Senate introduction of the Honor Our Living Donors. https://www.asn-online.org/about/press/releases/ASN_PR_20241217_HOLDfinal12.16507pm.pdf. Published Dec. 17, 2024. Accessed Dec. 17, 2024.
HOLD Act passes U.S. House, aims to improve access to kidney transplants. https://www.kidney.org/press-room/hold-act-passes-u-s-house-aims-to-improve-access-to-kidney-transplants. Published Dec. 17, 2024. Accessed Dec. 17, 2024.
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