Resources and Information
Educational Resources
National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation has numerous resources about kidney health, including awareness, prevention, treatment, support, kidney donation, and transplantation for patients, medical professionals, and advocates. These resources include educational information, kidney health assessment tools, recipes, news stories, patient stories, transplant workshops, and more. There are several resources specific to living kidney donation, including a free, self-paced online program and decision tools.
UNOS Transplant Living
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) manages the national transplant waitlist of the United States and match organ donors to recipients. They also conduct research, provide education and consultation, and advocate for patients. The website has educational information about living kidney donation, including how to make an informed decision and how to get started with the donation process.
American Kidney Fund
The American Kidney Fund works to support people across the spectrum of kidney disease, from prevention through post-transplant living. They provide education, financial assistance, advocacy, and fund kidney research. They have a US map of living donor protection that shows grades for each state related to how they encourage living organ donation and reduce barriers for living donors (e.g., protection from insurance discrimination, paid leave, tax credits, and more).
Financial Assistance
National Living Donor Assistance Center
https://www.livingdonorassistance.org/
The mission of the National Living Donor Assistance Center is to reduce the financial disincentives to living organ donation. They provide travel reimbursement and financial assistance to assist with lost wages, dependent care, and other donation-related expenses. They also have resources on their website including donor stories, educational information, a pay calculator, and links to other resources and affiliated transplant programs.
American Kidney Fund
https://www.kidneyfund.org/get-assistance
The American Kidney Fund works to support people across the spectrum of kidney disease, from prevention through post-transplant living. They provide education, advocacy, and fund kidney research. They have several resources related to financial assistance, including help with insurance premiums, grants for expenses uncovered by insurance, education scholarships, prescription drug resources, and more.