Living kidney donor Ashley Baranow received travel reimbursement and compensation for lost wages through APKD’s Donor Protection Program
TOLEDO, Ohio – Living kidney donor Ashley Baranow shares her story as an example of how a comprehensive donor support program helps make kidney donation possible. As she prepared to give the gift of life to her mother, Baranow benefited from the Donor Protection Program™ offered by the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD), an Ohio-based non-profit organization and a global leader in paired kidney donation.
Today in the United States, more than 80,000 people are waiting on lifesaving kidney transplants, according to the U.S. Organ Transplantation and Procurement Network (OPTN). While living donation can provide several benefits for transplant candidates, such as reducing time spent on the transplant waiting list and better long-term health outcomes, the decision to become a living kidney donor is a highly personal one that can be affected by the financial implications of travel and time off work.
APKD developed its Donor Protection Program to alleviate many of the financial concerns a potential donor may face. Baranow, who traveled from Texas to Illinois for testing and surgery, received travel reimbursement and compensation for lost wages. She says APKD’s program allowed her to focus on her donation and healing after her procedure.
“APKD’s program and kindness eased my anxiety about my husband and I taking so much time off work for testing, surgery and recovery,” said Baranow. “If I had not had their help, I would have been far more worried and would have pushed myself to go back to work before I was ready.”
In addition to covering transplant-related expenses, APKD’s Donor Protection Program offers comprehensive insurance for all living donors against any complications related to their surgery. This added benefit ensures APKD is offering the most comprehensive donor support program in the nation to its transplant center partners.
“At APKD, we believe kidney donation is such an amazing gift, the process should be free to the donor,” said Sue Rees, chief operating officer of APKD. “You are volunteering to give up something from your own body to save another person’s life, and you shouldn’t have to shoulder financial penalties on top of the physical challenges of the surgery. We are proud to take these concerns away so that willing donors like Ashley can focus on their lifesaving gift and recovery from surgery. We wish both Ashley and her mother many years of health and happiness, and we thank Ashley for her gift of kidney donation.”
To learn more about APKD’s Donor Protection Program and how it helps protect living kidney donors and their families, visit us here.