Living donors save lives - Need money to cover costs while donating organs

[okarol]

  August 9, 2007

Living donors save lives
Need money to cover costs while donating organs

By JOYANNE PURSAGA, SUN MEDIA

They endure poking, prodding and pain along with two to four months of lost wages, all for the chance to save a life.

Living organ donors come to the rescue of those waiting for transplants. Now Manitoba is working on a new plan to ease the costs of that choice.

Winnipegger Elaine Kotowicz, who donated a kidney to her daughter, said the cost was a "non-issue" in the critical decision.

But she sympathizes with those unable to afford time off for surgery.

"Every little bit helps. There's a terrible shortage of kidneys and donors and people are dying because there are just not enough," said Kotowicz.

B.C. served 101 donors in the first year of a three-year pilot project to cover the costs of live organ donation.

This spring, Premier Gary Doer promised to create a similar system in Manitoba.

Robert Crawford, a Toronto resident who gave 67% of his liver so his sister-in-law would survive the decay of her own, agreed there's a great need to remove donation barriers.

"It could be a real hardship to be off work for three or four months," said Crawford, who stopped in Winnipeg yesterday on a cross-Canada motorcycle trek for organ donor awareness. "I think it's a great idea to cover out of pocket expenses."

Crawford said one Canadian dies every three days while waiting for a new organ.

His sister-in-law, Marilyn Olivo-Crawford, said doctors told her to expect a three- to four-year wait for a liver donation.

'SAVED MY LIFE'

She believes that without Robert's help she wouldn't have lived to endure the operation.

"Robert saved my life when he stepped up to the plate," said Olivo-Crawford.

The B.C. donor program is the first in Canada. It offers donors up to $5,500 for transportation, travel and other expenses, with set limits for each category.

Loss of income may also be covered if holiday, disability and other benefits are exhausted.

"The key benefit would be that all living donors who want to give a kidney would not be restricted by their expenses ... It could mean more donors," said Val Dunphy, Manitoba's executive director for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Dunphy said about 200 people are waiting to receive a kidney in Manitoba right now. According to Transplant Manitoba, 26 living donor kidney transplants occurred in the province during 2006.


http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2007/08/09/4404329-sun.html