According the National Kidney Registry, there are costs associated with giving the gift of life through transplant. Below are two scenarios via the Registry’s website that could be typical for donors. In some instances, the donors may be reimbursed for some or all of the costs by the organ recipient or various living donor programs:
Typical Donor Expenses
| Example 1:2 weeks off, medium size city, car trip | Example 2:5 weeks off, big city, air travel | |||||
| Trip # 1 (Full Evaluation) | ||||||
| Car Trip | $ | 100 | Airfare – One Person | $ | 2,000 | |
| Hotel – 1 nights @ 200/night | $ | 200 | Hotel – 2 nights @400/night | $ | 800 | |
| Meals – 2 days @$100/day | $ | 200 | Meals – 3 Days @ $100/day | $ | 300 | |
| Lost Wages – 2 days @$200/day | $ | 400 | Lost Wages – 3 Days @ $200/day | $ | 600 | |
| Trip # 2 (Transplant Surgery) | ||||||
| Car Trip | $ | 100 | Airfare – 2 people including caregiver | $ | 4,000 | |
| Hotel – 5 nights @ $200/night | $ | 1,000 | Hotel – 10 nights @$400/night | $ | 4,000 | |
| Meals – 5 days @$100/day | $ | 500 | Meals – 10 days @$100/day | $ | 1,000 | |
| Lost Wages – 2 weeks @$1,000/wk | $ | 2,000 | Lost Wages – 5 weeks @$1,000/wk | $ | 5,000 | |
| Total | $ | 4,500 | $ | 17,700 | ||
Pisano recommends that prospective living organ donors evaluate their situation from an insurance perspective and do proper research beforehand: If you’re already covered, consult with your insurers and discuss possible changes. If you’re thinking about getting coverage, determine what your approaches are.
Natalie Cole, singer and songwriter; kidney recipient
Gary Coleman, actor from Diff’rent Strokes; two-time kidney recipient
George Lopez, actor and comedian; kidney recipient
Alonzo Mourning, former NBA star; kidney recipient
Larry Hagman, actor who played J. R. Ewing on Dallas; liver recipient
Evel Knievel, stuntperson; liver recipient
Mickey Mantle, Hall of Fame baseball player; liver recipient
Steve Jobs, cofounder and CEO of Apple; liver recipient
Greg Allman, musician and leader of the Allman Brothers Band; liver recipient
List compiled from a number of news sources including: USA Today, Rolling Stone, TIME Magazine, CNET.com
Although people tend to believe the rich and famous go straight to the top of the waiting list for donor organs, this myth is entirely false. According to the MayoClinic.com, it may just seem as though celebrities get them faster because of the publicity generated when they do receive their transplant. In actuality, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) audits all celebrity transplants to be sure they were fairly received.
A Living Donor’s Possible Risks
The kidney donor surgery has a .03 percent mortality rate (i.e., 3 in 10,000), according to the National Kidney Registry. While, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2007 infant mortality rate in the United States is .64 percent (e.g., 64 in 10,000) indicating that it is about 20 times riskier to be born in the United States than to donate a kidney.
The same complications associated with major surgeries are also a factor for most living organ donations, primarily post-operative complications such as bleeding, clotting, negative anesthesia reactions, wound infection, fever, potential harm to surrounding organs, and death.
