WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) introduced the Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act to expand support available to living donors by allowing more donors to be eligible for compensation to cover wages, travel, childcare and caregiver expenses associated with donation. Each day, 17 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant, with many of these patients suffering from kidney failure and undergoing costly and painful dialysis treatments.

Under the current law, the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program helps low-income donors with reimbursements for expenses. However, the program’s impact is limited by income restrictions, preventing many potential donors from qualifying. Despite the kidney transplant waiting list exceeding 92,000, only about 6,000 living donations take place each year, in part due to the financial strain placed on donors. The HOLD Act seeks to alleviate this burden, encouraging more people to become living donors. 

Costs associated with donations can exceed $10,000 and are a key barrier for living donors. The HOLD Act prohibits the consideration of recipient income when determining eligibility for financial reimbursement to support more low and middle-income donors, delivers savings to Medicare by increasing living donation, and requires an annual assessment of the efficacy of the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program to Congress.

“Organ donation saves thousands of lives each year and we can potentially save even more by increasing the pool of donors,” said Boozman. “This legislation would assist in breaking down barriers so financial considerations do not prevent Americans from meeting this urgent need. I’m proud to join Senator Luján on this bipartisan initiative.” 

“Every day, Americans lose their lives waiting for an organ transplant while generous living donors are unable to step forward because of the financial burden it could place on themselves and their families,” said Luján. “This bill will help remove those barriers, ensuring that if you are interested in giving the greatest gift, they will not have to choose between their livelihood and the opportunity to save a life. By empowering living organ donors with the resources they need, we may increase the number of donors, reduce the transplant waitlist, and save lives.”

Full text of the bill can be found here.