Are you (or someone you know) contemplating the possibility of becoming a living kidney donor? If so, the American Society for Transplantation (AST) just made your discovery process a lot easier. This just released, the first-ever, Live Donor Toolkit for individuals who want to learn more about living organ donation. From cost worksheets to medical implications, you’ll find it all and more in this comprehensive guide.
This one of a kind toolkit was created to help interested individuals navigate complex questions surrounding financial and medical considerations involved in living kidney donation.
While a reassuring 97.5% of live organ donors say they would donate again if they could, it’s important to learn as much as you can about living donation before considering this extraordinary gift of life.
There are potential medical, psychosocial, and financial impacts associated with donating an organ. That said, interested donors need access to that information, and the best way to provide it would be in a centralized educational format. This toolkit does that and more.
AST’s educational toolkit was created specifically to improve the availability and delivery of quality education for those considering live donation. It was also created to expand living donation messaging to reach those who might consider live donation if they knew more about it. Additionally, this toolkit offers educational content that can be used across the transplant community.
Described as being housed under two umbrellas, the Live Donor Financial Toolkit and the Live Donor Medical Impact Toolkit offer 10-15 stand-alone chapters each. As an added bonus, the Medical Impact Toolkit includes chapters written for both provider-level and patient-level comprehension.
Here’s a sample list of chapters in the Medical Impact Toolkit:
- Hypertension in the Living Donor
- The Obese Kidney Donor
- The Living Donor Who is at Risk for PKD
- Donor Surgery – Post-op Complications
- What is the ESRD Risk for Living Donors
- Psychosocial Risks of Living Kidney Donation
- Pregnancy Outcomes after Live Kidney Donation
- Living Donation in Paired Exchange
Here’s a sample list of chapters in the Financial Toolkit:
- Lost wages due to recovery time
- Missing work from the evaluation
- Using up vacation, holiday, and sick days
- Concerns that the employer might not support a person’s absence from work
- Transportation for testing, surgery and follow up care
- Travel, meals and lodging expenses (out of town donors)
- Related caregiver, child care, elder care, pet care costs during recovery
Click on the toolkit image below to learn more:
For more information on how to share your story, increase need awareness and potentially meet individuals who might be interested in learning more about living kidney donation and/or becoming a living kidney donor for someone in need, visit: www.findingkidneydonors.com