Living donation and money
Does it cost anything to donate a kidney?
Short answer: your medical care should not cost you anything. The kidney recipient's insurance (or Medicare) pays for your testing, surgery, hospital stay and follow-up. The costs that can land on you are the indirect ones: travel, a hotel, and time off work. Help exists for those too.
What the recipient's insurance pays for
When you donate to someone, their insurance or Medicare covers the medical side of your donation. That includes the blood work and tests during screening, the surgery, your hospital stay, and your follow-up visits afterward. You should never get a bill for your own evaluation or surgery. If one shows up, call the transplant center's financial coordinator right away.
What usually is not covered
- Travel to and from the transplant center, including gas, flights and parking.
- Lodging if you live far from the center.
- Lost wages while you recover. Most donors are back to desk work in about 2 to 4 weeks, longer for physical jobs.
- Childcare or care for someone who depends on you.
Where to get help with those costs
National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC). A federally funded program that helps eligible donors with travel, lost wages and dependent care. It can provide up to $6,000 per donor in total, and it can also cover travel for a support person who goes with you. Eligibility depends partly on the recipient's household income. Apply at livingdonorassistance.org, usually with help from the transplant center's social worker.
Donor Shield. If you donate through a National Kidney Registry member center, its Donor Shield program reimburses lost wages, travel, lodging and dependent care, up to $30,000 in total, with no income test. Ask your center whether it participates.
Your state. Many states offer a tax deduction or credit for living donors, and some require paid leave for donors who work for the state. Your state's Department of Revenue can tell you what applies.
Your employer. Some employers offer paid donor leave. Ask HR before you schedule surgery.
Is it legal to be paid for a kidney?
No. Federal law (the National Organ Transplant Act) makes buying or selling organs illegal. The same law allows "reasonable" expenses like travel, lodging and lost wages to be reimbursed. That is the difference between a payment and the help programs above.
What about life insurance?
Donating can occasionally affect what you pay for life or disability insurance. Talk with the transplant team about this before you donate. If you already have a policy, it generally stays in place.
Common questions
Do kidney donors pay for their own surgery?
No. The recipient's insurance or Medicare pays the donor's medical costs, including testing, surgery, the hospital stay and follow-up care.
Who pays for a living kidney donor's travel and lost wages?
Usually not insurance. Programs such as the National Living Donor Assistance Center (up to $6,000) and the National Kidney Registry's Donor Shield (up to $30,000 at participating centers) help cover travel, lodging, lost wages and dependent care.
Can you get paid for donating a kidney?
No. Selling an organ is illegal in the United States. Reimbursing reasonable expenses like travel and lost wages is allowed.
How much time off work does kidney donation take?
Many donors return to desk work in about 2 to 4 weeks. Jobs with heavy lifting usually need longer. Your surgeon will give you a timeline.
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