Kidney Foundation working to lift financial barriers for donors
By Lethbridge Herald on April 27, 2021.
With the recent National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, The Kidney Foundation of Canada has become the first national organization to implement a new policy aimed at removing some of the financial barriers associated with living organ donation with The Wage Replacement Policy for Living Organ and Tissue Donation.The new policy ensures the salary of an employee who becomes a living donor remains unchanged throughout the donation process and for up to 15 weeks of recovery and was introduced by the organization last year to better support any of the Foundation’s staff members who wish to donate an organ to a person in need.
“We encourage other Canadian organizations and companies to explore their own policies and to take a bold step to help those who so altruistically decide to dramatically improve the health of someone through the selfless act of organ donation,” saif Elizabeth Myles, The Kidney Foundation’s National Executive Director in a release. “It is empowering for employees to be supported throughout the process. From an employer’s point of view, it was relatively easy to implement.”
Thousands of Canadians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant with kidney donation the most frequent type of living organ donation and is the most successful of all transplant procedures.
However, the need for organs for transplantation is much greater than the available supply and the waitl ist for a donation from a deceased donor can be long, most wait for a minimum of three-and-a-half years with many waiting longer.
Living organ donation makes up more than 25 per cent of all kidney donations. The success rate for a transplant from a living donor is high with as much as 90—95 per cent of kidneys working well after one year and lasting on average 15 to 20 years.
Living organ donation plays a significant role in saving and enhancing the lives of many Canadians , but the potential of lost wages during recovery can influence an individual’s ability to become a donor.
Programs exist in many provinces to compensate certain out-of-pocket expenses for donors such as The Kidney Foundation’s Living Organ Donor Expense Reimbursement Program in Southern Alberta, but most employers do not offer salary coverage to employees who want to donate an organ.
That means a donor could be faced with the hard decision between giving the gift of life and putting themselves in financial hardship.
“When I donated my kidney to my wife years ago, I had short term disability insurance, which covered only a portion of my salary. With both of us not working during the transplant, it was difficult,” said Stuart Duff, as he thinks back on his experience being a living donor to his wife Cheryl in June of 2016. “Without that kind of coverage, it would definitely have been tough financially for our family and I don’t know if I could have donated. Support from employers is so important. My wife is my everything and I can’t imagine how hard it would be on other families facing that decision without any support.”
The actions of The Kidney Foundation has earned it a place within an elite group of organizations and businesses as a member of the Canadian Society of Transplantation Living Donor Circle of Excellence.
“Every organ donor is a hero. We have two kidneys and only need one, so if we qualify and are able to donate, it’s an incredible way to change someone’s life,” said Joyce Van Deurzen, Executive Director at The Kidney Foundation of Canada Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan Branches in a release. “The Kidney Foundation is determined to do everything possible to remove any barriers to organ donation, so that no opportunity for an organ donation is missed. The implementation of this policy and ones like it give hope to everybody waiting for a transplant.” 2
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