Press Releases

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act (H.R. 6020) that Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Jay Obernolte (CA-23) introduced. The HOLD Act will allow more living donors to qualify for wage, travel, and caregiver reimbursements when donating organs.

“No one should have to choose between a paycheck and donating a lifesaving organ, but the current organ donation system fails to provide living donors the support and resources they need. Patients currently wait for years on the transplant list and many die because there aren’t enough people who are willing and can afford to donate. The House took a major step forward in addressing this disparity with today’s unanimous bipartisan vote in the Energy & Commerce Committee to advance legislation I introduced with Rep. Obernolte,” said DelBene. “I am hopeful we can pass this bill through the House of Representatives so we can give renewed hope to Americans waiting for organ donations.”

“One of the most powerful acts of generosity is the donation of a life-saving organ to another person,” said Obernolte. "Donating an organ, however, often requires an overwhelming financial obligation and extensive time to recover from the procedure. Unfortunately, current law disincentives individuals who would otherwise be motivated to become a living donor. With 100,000 Americans on the waiting list for an organ transplant, it’s critical that we make it easier for living donors to give the gift of life.”

Income restrictions limit who can be reimbursed for being a living donor through the federal National Living Donor Assistance Center. Currently, donors can only be reimbursed if the income of the recipient and donor combined is less than 350% of the HHS poverty level, roughly $53,000 a year for a family of four. As a result, 91% of donors finance their own donation. The HOLD Act would no longer limit donor eligibility based on the income of the recipient.

This legislation would help the more than 37 million Americans living with kidney diseases, including more than 800,000 with kidney failure, get the life-changing donation they need. People with kidney failure likely are on dialysis and awaiting a kidney donation. Medicare spends approximately $150 billion annually—over 18 percent of total program spending—on people with kidney diseases. Managing kidney failure through dialysis and related care accounts for roughly $50 billion of Medicare spending each year. The cost of transplant and post-transplant care is substantially less.

What They’re Saying:  

American Society of Nephrology: “The Honor Our Living Donors Act will simplify access to financial support for living donors through the National Living Donor Assistance Center by using donors’ own income to determine their eligibility to receive support for donation-related costs. Currently, donors’ eligibility to receive support is determined using the organ recipient’s income. This policy change is an important step towards supporting living donors who need financial help as they provide the gift of life.” 

National Kidney Foundation: “Under the NLDAC program's current requirements, living donors sometimes must ask their prospective recipients for assistance with donation related expenses, such as hotel charges, airfare, or lost wages,” stated NKF CEO and transplant recipient Kevin Longino. “The potential tension and discomfort of basing NLDAC eligibility on the recipient’s income is burdensome and counterproductive. NKF appreciates Rep. Obernolte and Rep. DelBene’s leadership to expand and improve the NLDAC program and base eligibility for reimbursement solely on the donor’s financial status.” 

Waitlist Zero: “The Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act will provide low income living organ donors with a cost neutral organ donation by removing recipient income from the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) application and focusing solely on the critical factor, donor income. NLDAC, a federal living donor reimbursement system, currently requires that for donors to qualify for funding both donor and recipient income be below $51,000 for an individual. Many low-income Americans, especially rural Americans, cannot bear the cost of being a living organ donor due to the travel expenses to the transplant center as well as the lost wages incurred while they recover from the surgery. Reps. Obernolte and DelBene’s HOLD Act, will reduce the kidney and liver donor waitlist by increasing the number of living organ donations, the gold standard for patients with chronic kidney and liver disease.”