There are currently around 89,000 people on the kidney transplant waitlist.1 Seventeen people die each day waiting for an organ 2 Many family members and friends would like to donate their kidney, but sometimes the financial costs are too high. Living donors need to take time off from work and may need to travel or pay for childcare or elder care. To help with these costs, the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) provides financial aid to a limited number of kidney donors; however, the NLDAC cannot provide assistance to everyone.
The Living Donor Tax Credit Act of 2023 (H.R. 6171) would help expand the number of living donors and provide more end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with kidneys by allowing all taxpayers the ability to recoup the costs associated with a kidney donation not covered by insurance through a refundable tax credit. A transplant recipient's insurance will cover the medical expenses of a donor, but may not cover follow-up services, and will not cover travel expenses, childcare expenses, or lost wages.3 A refundable tax credit allows workers with lower incomes to receive funds back when they file their tax returns and would help to expand kidney donations in low-income communities.
Act now to encourage your federal representative to support this bill.