The United States can and must do more to honor and protect living organ donors. For over 20 years, the kidney stakeholder community has worked on legislation to end the penalties and discrimination living organ donors face for their noble and selfless decision to save a life.

Yet, potential organ donors nationwide still say fear of losing their job and/or the security provided by their life and disability insurance benefits is a MAJOR barrier to donating a kidney. 

Over 100,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant and last year, thousands of Americans died while awaiting a Gift of Life. Kidney disease is a threat to every human being, but as Americans working together, we can reverse the toll it takes on loved ones, families, and communities.

Please join the tens of thousands of organ donors, families, and patients working with the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and other united kidney stakeholders (AST, ASTS, RKDF, ASN, RPA, NKF, ASTS, AST) to gain Congressional approval of a new package of Bills (2 Bills) to address Living Donor Protections and to reinforce the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections for living organ donors. 

These Bills will help promote organ donation in three easy, low-cost ways:

1. Prohibit life, disability, and long-term care insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage and from charging higher premiums based solely on a person’s status as an organ donor.
2. Amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to specifically allow private and civil service employees to use FMLA leave to recover from organ donation surgery.
3. Direct HHS to update their materials on living organ donation to reflect these new protections and encourage more individuals to consider donating an organ. 

We are fortunate that a large, bipartisan team of principled, sincere Congressional leaders ALREADY support this package of legislation. Now, it is time to add your voice. Remember, you are more powerful than ANY special interest in Washington, D.C. when you raise your voice directly to the elected leaders who represent you.

Transplantation is the best therapy for those suffering from kidney failure. Without more transplants, kidney patients face either premature death or dialysis – and status quo dialysis has an unacceptably high mortality rate.

The time is NOW to ask your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to put these job and insurance protections permanently into U.S. law – and end insurance discrimination. We look forward to doing this together with you – for both organ donors and kidney patients!