Educating on Capitol Hill for Live Donors

PREPARE NOW Principal Investigator, L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH

​Post submitted by PREPARE NOW Principal Investigator, L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH
Today, co-Investigator Jerome Bailey from the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and I have been on Capitol Hill, educating our nation’s legislators on the importance of protecting live kidney donors. The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) have teamed up to support the Living Donor Protection Act (S. 2584/H.R. 4616), which aims to protect donors by (1) ensuring they are not denied or given limited coverage or higher premiums for life, disability and long term care plans, and (2) allowing donors to use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time to recover from their donation surgery and maintain job security. The Act will also direct the Department of Health and Human Services to create educational  materials reflecting donor protections to encourage more Americans to consider becoming living donors.  Jerome and I had the pleasure of visiting 6 legislators from North Carolina, Florida, and Washington DC who were eager to hear about the Act. It was encouraging to hear support for this important Act among our nation’s leaders, and I felt honored to advocate for live donors in this way.  Let’s hope we can make a difference! ​
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