Document Detail


Current Canadian initiatives to reimburse live organ donors for their non-medical expenses.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19039887     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Living organ donors frequently incur non-medical expenses for travel, accommodation, prescription drugs, loss of income, and child care in conjunction with organ donation. Despite international precedent and widespread public support, Canada currently lacks a unified strategy to reimburse donors for these expenses. In 2005, we communicated with 78 individuals within the field of Canadian transplantation to identify which initiatives for reimbursement of living donors existed in each province. Saskatchewan was the only province in which public employees were granted paid leave for organ donation. Six provincial governments partially reimbursed travel and accommodation. At the federal level, other expenses could be partially reimbursed through an income tax credit, while the Employment Insurance program and the Canada Pension Plan provided funding for donors who become unemployed or develop long-term disability as a result of donation. Charities helped a limited number of patients in financial need through grants and no-interest loans, but funding was generally limited by contributions received. While reimbursing living donors for their non-medical expenses is considered just, existing programs only partially reimburse expenses and are not available in all provinces. Developing future reimbursement policies will remove a disincentive faced by some potential donors, and may increase rates of transplantation in Canada.
Authors:
Sorina Vlaicu; Scott Klarenbach; Robert C Yang; Todd Dempster; Amit X Garg
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Canadian journal of public health. Revue canadienne de santé publique     Volume:  98     ISSN:  0008-4263     ISO Abbreviation:  Can J Public Health     Publication Date:    2007 Nov-Dec
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-12-01     Completed Date:  2008-12-31     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0372714     Medline TA:  Can J Public Health     Country:  Canada    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  481-3     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Canada
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Government Programs
Health Care Costs
Health Policy / economics*
Humans
Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / economics*
Kidney Transplantation / economics*
Living Donors*
Program Development*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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