If you’ve never heard of the HOLD (Honor Our Living Donors) Act, I can assure you this is good news! Great news, in fact, for potential living donors, so, by extension, for potential kidney recipients. If this bill becomes federal law, the National Living Donor Assistance Center, or NLDAC, would consider only the donor’s income–not the recipient’s, too–when deciding whether to provide critical financial assistance and reimbursement to donors. Seems logical, don’t you think? And yet, for years, NLDAC has perversely considered both.
As a living donor to my son, I can tell you that the very idea of putting both potential donor and recipient in such an untenable position makes me want to scream. I explained more when I wrote about it here last fall when the bill was introduced.
Okay, but that was in November. What’s the great news?
Remember, now, this is federal legislation so everything moves very slowly (need I remind you about the Living Donor Protection Act?). That said, this particular bill has had bipartisan support, has already been referred to a committee (Energy and Commerce) and, last month, passed unanimously!
The HOLD Act now awaits consideration by the House as a whole. Please contact your member of Congress and urge him or her to lend support to the HOLD Act, HR 6020. If they are already sponsors or cosponsors, be sure to thank them!
For related posts and information on my book, The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation, be sure to explore the rest of my website.
Could You Be a Kidney Donor? What to Expect If You Give the Greatest Gift 