The Living Donor Protection Act of 2023 (H.R. 2923 and S. 1384) would protect living donors from discrimination by life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance providers. It would also ensure that living organ donors have Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections so they can take time off work to donate an organ and recover from surgery without fear of losing their job. If passed, this federal legislation would ensure every state has a basic level of protection — so that where a person lives does not make it more difficult to be a living donor.
This important legislation will ensure that individuals who give the gift of life are protected from discrimination and are encouraged to help those in desperate need. Sign now and ask your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to cosponsor the Living Donor Protection Act!
As your constituent and as someone who has been impacted by kidney disease, I am writing to request that you cosponsor the Living Donor Protection Act of 2023.
This important bill would protect those individuals who made the life-saving decision to donate a kidney. Currently, those individuals who make this courageous decision can face discrimination by insurance companies who do not want to offer policies to organ donors.
The Living Donor Protection Act would address these issues by prohibiting insurers from declining or limiting coverage of a life insurance, disability, or long-term care insurance policy due to the status of "living organ donor."
Living donor protections should include important Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections. In August 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter that stated that organ donation is protected under FMLA. The Living Donor Protection Act would codify the DOL opinion to ensure that the time an organ donor takes off from work is protected under the FMLA. The living donor could take time off from work to donate the kidney and recover from the surgery without fear of losing employment.
The bill would be an important step toward encouraging kidney donations from living donors, which would expand the number of transplants in our county and provide more end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients the opportunity to live a life without dialysis. Giving the gift of a kidney is the ultimate altruistic act. Those who offer their organ, so others can live more fully, should be rewarded and protected.
