As the TransplantFirst Academy (TFA) continues its advocacy projects to honor and protect living kidney donors, we’re reaching out to our local transplant community friends and partners to share some exciting policy updates:
Living Kidney Donors Day
As many of you know, our conversations over the last three years with Arizona State Representative, Heather Carter ushered in the concurrent proclamation resolution HCR 2042 to recognize Living Kidney Donor Day (LKDD). This year we will be celebrating LKDD in March from the floor of the State Senate, where we will recognize nearly 3,000 brave Arizonans who saved a life by donating one of their kidneys to someone in need. As the first state in the nation to achieve an awareness day for living kidney donors, we continue to be inspired by the handfuls of states that are following our lead.
New! AZ Living Kidney Donor Protections –SB1100
Boosted by our LKDD victory, we’ve been using our voices to champion protections for living organ donors on a local level. Thanks to our team’s dedicated advocacy communications—and the remarkable efforts of now Senator Carter and colleague Brophy McGee, the State of Arizona Senate’s fifty-fourth legislature introduced AZ SB1100, with the goal of protecting living organ donors from unfair insurance practices.
Receiving a unanimous YES vote from the Senate floor last week, SB 1100 explicitly prohibits insurers that offer life, disability or long-term care insurance contracts from unfairly discriminating against living organ donors. These conditions include offering, covering and the price or conditions of an insurance policy based exclusively, and without additional actuarial risks, on that person’s status as a living organ donor. We consider this a huge win and invite you to join us as we celebrate this statewide victory. *Please spread the word to update living kidney donors and those considering donation.
New! FMLA Protections are Extended to Living Organ Donors
We enthusiastically applaud the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) decision to extend, via the full and appropriate authority of the U.S. Secretary of Labor, FMLA protections to living donors. This action protects the jobs of living organ donors and covers time off work for surgery and recovery. Thanks to strong voices from TransplantFirst Academy (TFA), the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and stakeholder allies including the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and multiple other kidney related organizations, the Department of labor fully understood that this policy change was of critical importance and completely consistent with the original intent of the FMLA legislative sponsors. Learn more here: https://aakp.org/press-release/labor-secretary-acosta-earns-patient-praise-organ-donor-job-protections-eve-labor-day-weekend /
Breaking News! Following the actions of the Executive Branch to extend FMLA coverage to living donors last Fall, a new bill to provide further protections to living donors was entered this week by Senators Gillibrand and Cotton, and U.S. Representative Herrera Beutler. Our allies and organizations are front and center, working with leaders in Congress to make certain additional protections are afforded to courageous living organ donors through the strength of legislative action. Please stay tuned to join these efforts by helping these leaders pass the bipartisan Living Donor Protection Act.
Live-Donor Champion Programs
Webinars, workshops and how-to patient empowerment resources are sure to improve patient outcomes by expanding live-donor transplant opportunities. Please help us give a big shout out to The Transplant Institute at Banner University Medical Center, for their wildly successful (standing room only) Living Donor Kidney Transplant Education Days. We are deeply moved by their drive to be the first local center to champion an informed path to live-donor transplants for three consecutive years. It was my great honor to be invited back as their guest speaker, presenting alongside their distinguished group of surgeons, nurse coordinators, and social workers. Two words: Bravo Banner!
On this day of love and recognition, we invite you to join us to celebrate these record-setting achievements. Fittingly, we also celebrate National Donors Day today—a perfect match for Valentine’s Day observance!
For more information, contact Risa Simon
Risa@TransplantFirst.org