WASHINGTON, D.C. -- March 11, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Boozman (R-AR) reintroduced the bipartisan Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act to make it easier for living donors to give the ultimate gift by expanding eligibility for donor compensation to cover wages, travel, child care, and caregiver expenses associated with donation. Each day, 17 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant, with many of these patients suffering from kidney failure and undergoing costly and painful dialysis treatments. This bill will help people get off the waitlist and back to living healthy lives by facilitating more donations from people who want to donate but are unable to because of cost barriers.
Dialysis alone costs Medicare more than $50 billion annually. Under the current law, the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program helps low-income donors with reimbursements for expenses. However, the program's impact is limited by income restrictions, preventing many potential donors from qualifying. Despite over 92,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list, only about 6,000 living donations take place each year, in part due to the financial strain placed on donors. The HOLD Act seeks to alleviate this burden, encouraging more people to become living donors.
Cost associated with donation can exceed $10,000 and are a main barrier for living donors. To make it easier for donors that are selflessly giving the gift of life, the HOLD Act prohibits the consideration of recipient income when determining eligibility for financial reimbursement to support more low-and middle-income donors; delivers savings to Medicare by increasing living donation; and assesses the efficacy of the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program through an annual report to Congress.
"Every day, families lose their loved ones while waiting for an organ transplant while generous living donors are unable to step forward because of the financial burden," Luján said. "The HOLD Act will help remove those barriers, you will not have to choose between your livelihood and the opportunity to save a life. I'm proud to partner with Senator Boozman on this bipartisan effort to support our living organ donors. By providing living organ donors with the resources they need, we can increase the number of donors, reduce the transplant waitlist, and save lives."
"Thousands of lives are saved each year through organ donation," Boozman said. "I am proud to join Senator Luján on this bipartisan initiative that reduces financial barriers to donation, ensuring Americans have the resources necessary to increase the potential donor pool and ultimately save lives."