$200,000 will go to help living organ donors cover their expenses
By Mariam Ibrahim, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON — Shawn Foran knows the importance of organ donation. He received a new kidney after his own failed more than 11 years ago.
He was forced to go through kidney dialysis for more than five years while he waited for a donor, but a match was finally found."My life changed overnight," Foran said. The new organ helped him live a normal life for almost a decade until it, too, failed two years ago.
Now, Foran must endure between 12 and 24 hours a week hooked up to a dialysis machine that keeps him alive while he waits for a new donor match to be found -- a wait that could last months or years.
Deciding to donate an organ can be a trying experience, physically and emotionally, but it can also place a serious financial strain on a potential donor.
The provincial government is hoping to encourage organ donation and alleviate some of that financial burden. It announced Wednesday a $200,000 grant for the Kidney Foundation of Canada to establish a reimbursement program in Alberta to help cover the expenses of living donors.
The program, introduced in 2006, is designed to reduce the barriers to donating an organ by providing up to $5,500 for each living donor of a kidney, partial lung or liver.
As someone who has found himself on the organ waiting list twice, Foran said the new funding will give hope to many others facing the same situation."For me, it's something very personal. It's a great day," Foran said, holding back tears. "Anything that shortens the wait list is a good thing."
Living organ donors must undergo a lengthy evaluation, sometimes requiring them to travel long distances and take time away from work. They also need six to eight weeks away from their jobs for post-surgery recovery, said Shayroz Hasham, the living donor co-ordinator for the kidney foundation.
Currently, donors are expected to foot the bill for all non-medical costs associated with the transplant.
Minister of Health and Wellness Gene Zwozdesky said he hopes the program will encourage more Albertans to donate a kidney to the 375 people in the province now on the waiting list.
"What's important with programs like this is we create and generate a lot more awareness about the donation program and at the same time offer incentives so people find it easier to donate," Zwozdesky said.
The grant money is intended to carry the program for the next two years and is expected to help between 150 and 200 donors.
Ken Hillerud donated a kidney last year to a stranger, and while the new funding won't help him, he was happy about the announcement. "It can be a financial hardship, that's for sure," Hillerud said. "I think this is a wonderful thing. You can live normally with one kidney, so you can certainly help a loved one or even a stranger."
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