Ontario and Manitoba to reimburse expenses for living organ donors

Roger Collier

doi:10.1503/cmaj.080704

Living organ donors in Ontario and Manitoba are now eligible to receive reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses and income lost during surgery recovery. British Columbia is the only other province with such a program.

In Manitoba, the government is partnering with that province's branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, each contributing $25 000, to provide up to $5000 to donors to cover things such as travel expenses, hotel stays, meals and child care. Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald made the announcement on Apr. 18, 2008.

Ontario's program began on Apr. 1, 2008, and will be run by the Trillium Gift of Life Network, a government agency. Donors will be eligible for up to $5500 in reimbursements. The program was officially announced as part of National Organ and Tissue Donation Week (Apr. 20–27, 2008) but is retroactive to August 2007, when Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty promised to reimburse living donors as part of his election campaign.

Trillium Gift of Life Network President Frank Markel. Image by: Trillium Gift of Life Network

“Our society values organ donation enormously,” says Frank Markel, president and chief executive officer of the network. “It is one of the most generous acts anyone can perform, to give an organ to another human being. People should not suffer financial loss because they do this.”

The British Columbia reimbursement program, a 36-month pilot project, has given money to 145 donors and potential donors, $154 000 in total, since its inception in July 2006. Of those, 106 were British Columbia residents, 20 were from other provinces and 19 were international donors. As long as the organ recipient is from British Columbia, the residence of the donor is irrelevant.

The program benefits both recipient and donor, says Lorraine Gerard, executive-director of the British Columbia branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Although it's unlikely the program has resulted in more donors, it does accelerate the transplantation process, as donors no longer need to schedule their surgeries to minimize financial losses (waiting until their holidays, for example). It also provides peace of mind to donors during recovery.

“They can concentrate on recuperation rather than on how those bills will be paid,” says Gerard.

In addition to being reimbursed for expenses, the families of Ontario residents waiting for an organ will now receive financial aid if forced to relocate to be near a hospital that can provide the operation should an organ become available. Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman announced the creation of the $500 000 annual fund on Apr. 21, 2008.

The 3 provinces are among few jurisdictions offering incentives for donation, (CMAJ 2006;175[9]:1043-5). The United Kingdom reimburses costs ranging from travel and accommodation to lost wages. France covers travel and accommodation, while the United States is examining a range of options, including reimbursing donor's funeral expenses.