Fresenius Medical Care North America, the nation’s leading provider of kidney care products and services, applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts, announced yesterday, to reduce financial barriers to living organ donation for potential donors.
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WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresenius Medical Care North America, the nation's leading provider of kidney care products and services, applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' efforts, announced yesterday, to reduce financial barriers to living organ donation for potential donors.
"We strongly believe that the best option for all patients with kidney failure is the option to receive a transplant," said Bill Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Medical Care North America. "Reducing financial barriers by reimbursing kidney donors for lost wages, childcare, and other expenses, is a positive step forward in supporting those willing to give life back to others, and therefore making living donation a more viable option for many Americans." When the preservation of a person's own kidneys is not possible because of progressive disease or injury, despite treatment, replacing their function with a transplanted kidney is the best option for patients who develop kidney failure. This year, an estimated 20,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list will receive a kidney transplant, primarily from deceased donors. Another person is added to the waiting list about every ten minutes. With a shortage of deceased donor kidneys to meet demand, living donor kidneys are a strong option with higher post-transplant success rates than deceased donor kidneys, according to United States Renal Data System data. The Fresenius Medical Care Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was established by Fresenius Medical Care North America and has a mission to raise awareness of kidney disease and transplantation as a lifesaving solution. In October, Donate Life America (DLA) and the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation announced a unique partnership, launching a groundbreaking National Donate Life Living Donor Registry and at-home testing kit. These efforts are designed to improve access to living donation for the 95,000 people on the national transplant waiting list currently waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. "This proposed rule reinforces the partnership between the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation and Donate Life America to establish the first national, universal living donor registry, and at-home testing kit," said Valle. "We appreciate the efforts of the government to further encourage living donation for those in need of a kidney, providing a better and faster path to transplant for our patients." To learn more about the partnership between Donate Life America and the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation, visit www.fmcna.com/foundation. About Fresenius Medical Care North America About Fresenius Medical Care Foundation Media Contact:
SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. |
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