Home Away From Home Helps Transplant Patients

Home Away From Home Helps Transplant Patients

News Release

Contact: Connie Gonitzke
Director of Resource Development
National Foundation for Transplants
(901) 684-1697 or (800) 489-3863
5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 430, Memphis, TN 38119
05:38pm 7/27/07

Transplant patients have one less financial concern thanks to the innovative Home Away From Home program that donates frequent-stay points accrued by Roche Pharmaceuticals to the National Foundation for Transplants (NFT) so patients and their caregivers can receive free lodging when they need to travel to transplant centers for care.

When Wilton Carter received his kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic in Florida, he thought he would be home in a few weeks. However, both Wilton and his living donor, daughter Tonya, developed complications. It was seven weeks before Wilton made it back to his home in Baxley, Georgia, and then he had to frequently return to Mayo for check-ups. Each trip meant staying overnight in a hotel room for several nights.

"I had lost my job because of having to be his caregiver, so our only source of income was Wilton's Social Security payments," says his wife, Sylvia. "The Home Away From Home program was a real life-saver."

Home Away From Home is made possible by frequent-stay points Roche earns when conducting meetings at participating hotels. The points now help transplant patients across the country, many of whom do not have adequate health insurance or personal savings to deal with the huge expenses incurred before, during and after surgery. For Roche, the program reflects its long-standing commitment to patients and their families.

While NFT hopes to assist every family in need, they cannot guarantee room availability.

To be eligible for a complimentary stay, transplant patients should ask their transplant center representative to contact NFT requesting an application. NFT should receive the completed application at least one to two weeks in advance of the patient's appointment.

For more information about Home Away From Home, transplant patients should call Judy at (800) 489-3863 or email her at jstrickland@transplants.org.