Kidney donors should apply for reimbursement of expenses and lost earnings – Burke

Fine Gael Cork North Central Senator, Colm Burke, has said that kidney donors should apply for the compensation scheme set up late last year, to reimburse them for their expenses and loss of earnings.

“This week in the Seanad I raised the topic of compensation for kidney donors with the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar TD. This is something we have been working on for a long time in the Oireachtas Health Committee, of which I am a member.

“Many living donors may not be aware that they can apply for reimbursement for their expenses and the  loss of income that results from donating a kidney. Donors are eligible to be reimbursed for loss of earnings incurred from the time the donation takes place and up to 12 weeks post-donation, up to a maximum of €6,000. In addition to loss of earnings, reasonable travel and accommodation expenses incurred from when the person is selected as a potential donor through to the inpatient stay when the donation takes place and for up to 12 weeks post-donation are also eligible for reimbursement, up to a maximum of €6,000.

“Of course organ donation should be voluntary in nature and therefore unpaid. However no’one should be at a loss for such a selfless act as donating a kidney to someone. Some donors can be out of work for quite a period of time in order to recover. We must ensure that this is not a barrier to organ donation in the general population and this is where the reimbursement scheme comes in. I encourage everyone who has donated a kidney to apply for this funding.

“Not only do kidney donors provide an immensurable benefit to the recipient of the donation, they also do a valuable service to the State. There are approximately 1,800 people on dialysis the cost of which is approximately €75,000 per annum per patient in real terms. 

“During my discussion with Minister Varadkar in relation to this matter I was pleased to hear him confirm that the Department of Health plans to review this scheme by the end of this year in order to assess its effectiveness and see if it needs to be improved upon.”