KIDNEY BILL WOULD SAVE LIVES AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS

A year ago this month, Dee Schilling, a Sebastopol attorney, donated a

kidney to a friend's husband through UC San Francisco, one of the leading

kidney transplant centers in the world.

UCSF performs more than 400 kidney transplants a year, more than a third of

them from living donors. Dee made a quick recovery and says donating a kidney

''was no big deal.'' Medically that's true for nearly all living donors, but

financially it can be a very big deal.

UCSF is the second-largest center for transplants from living kidney

donors. A living kidney donation is the best possible treatment option for a

person with end-stage kidney disease; it will keep working for an average of

18 years. The shortage of living donors means the average patient waits 7 1/2

years for a kidney, usually on dialysis -- an expensive and uncomfortable

process.

In February, the National Kidney Foundation announced an exciting

initiative called ''End the Wait!'' to eliminate the waiting period for a

kidney by 2019. Increasing the number of living donors is an important aspect

of this program. While donation is easier than ever medically, many potential

donors do face a real financial sacrifice. The recipient's medical insurance

covers all of the donor's medical expenses, but not their loss of income or

out-of-pocket costs.

Dee was lucky. Her costs were just a few trips to San Francisco. As an

attorney, she could schedule her own time and lost little income during her

three-week recuperation.

As with Dee, I was lucky when I donated a kidney three years ago to Paul

Lazovick, a New Jersey man I hadn't met before. I recovered quickly, and at

age 66, I was receiving Social Security, so I didn't lose any income. But I

had other costs, including three trips to New York and a two-week hotel stay.

Fortunately, Paul was in a position to cover these costs, which he estimates

exceeded $7,000.

Not all donors are as fortunate as we were. It can cost thousands of

dollars to be a donor, which many people can't afford in this economy. Many

people agree there shouldn't be a financial incentive for donating a kidney,

but there shouldn't be a financial sacrifice either.

That's why Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced the Living Organ

Donor Tax Credit Act of 2009 -- HR 218. It would give living donors a

non-refundable tax credit up to $5,000 for lost wages and out-of-pocket costs.

Although this is a ''cost-neutral'' bill, it would ultimately save

taxpayers millions, even billions of dollars.

Medicare spends approximately $106,000 on a kidney transplant and the first

year's follow-up care. After that, it only spends $17,000 annually per

recipient for immunosuppressive drugs. Dialysis costs $71,000 annually per

patient, so after two years Medicare begins saving $54,000 a year on each

transplant.

Last year, 5,394 people chose to become living donors. Doubling that number

could save almost $300 million a year in dialysis costs and nearly $4.7

billion over the life of the new kidney -- not to mention saving more than

5,000 lives.

Chronic kidney disease is increasing. Twenty-six million Americans have

chronic kidney disease and millions more are at risk. The demand for

transplanted kidneys far outstrips the supply.

Over the last 10 years, the number of people waiting for a kidney has risen

86 percent, but the number of transplants has only grown 31 percent.

HR 218 helps to remove a significant obstacle to living donations. I urge

you to ask your congressional representative to support and co-sponsor HR 218.

Tish Levee, a Santa Rosa resident, is a free-lance writer and kidney donor.