The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) of Florida applauds the Florida legislature for taking action to protect living organ donors in Florida and promote living organ donation across the state. The Living Donor Protection Act (HB 1099/SB 1026) will prohibit disability, life, and long-term care insurers from discriminating against living donors through policy conditions, acceptance, or pricing based solely on the person’s living donor status. With the Governor’s signature, Florida will become the 21st state to enact such protections for living organ donors.

The Living Donor Protection Act is critical for the more than 4,350 Floridians currently waiting for a kidney transplant. While 1,514 of our neighbors received a lifesaving transplant in 2021, 256 died waiting for a kidney. Living donor protections help remove barriers to organ donation and provide an opportunity to expand the number of living donor transplants in Florida.

In addition to saving lives, removing barriers to living donation and increasing access to transplants also saves money. Currently, the annual Medicare costs associated with dialysis are $94,608 per patient on hemodialysis and $81,091 per patient on peritoneal dialysis, while the annual cost associated with kidney transplant is $25,182 per transplant patient after the first year of transplant.

The Living Donor Protection Act was championed in Florida by Senator Janet Cruz, Representative Webster Barnaby, and Representative Chris Latvala. NKF of Florida and our advocacy partners worked tirelessly to help get this legislation passed. Thank you to each and every advocate who contacted their legislators in support of this bill. Your voice made a difference!

To learn more about NKF, kidney disease, and how to become an advocate, go to Voices for Kidney Health at voices.kidney.org.

Kidney Disease Facts

In the United States, 37 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Blacks or African Americans are 3 times more likely than White Americans to have kidney failure. Hispanics are 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.

Approximately 785,000 Americans have irreversible kidney failure and need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. More than 555,000 of these patients receive dialysis to replace kidney function and 230,000 live with a transplant. Nearly 100,000 Americans are on the waitlist for a kidney transplant right now. Depending on where a patient lives, the average wait time for a kidney transplant can be upwards of three to seven years.

About National Kidney Foundation Living Organ Donation Resources:

THE BIG ASK: THE BIG GIVE platform, which provides nationwide outreach, is designed to increase kidney transplantation through training and tools that help patients and families find a living donor. It includes direct patient and caregiver support through our toll-free help line 855-NKF-CARES, peer mentoring from a fellow kidney patient or a living donor, online communities, an advocacy campaign to remove barriers to donation, and a multi-media public awareness campaign. All resources are free and designed to teach kidney patients, or their advocates, how to make a “big ask” to their friends, loved ones, or community to consider making a “big give,” a living organ donation. www.kidney.org/livingdonation.

About the National Kidney Foundation

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.