10 Reasons to Pass the End Kidney Deaths Act
The End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687) proposes a ten-year pilot program offering a $50,000 federal tax credit, paid over five years, to Americans who donate a kidney to a stranger. Non-directed donors can initiate transplant chains that save multiple lives.
1. Americans Are Dying While Waiting for Kidneys
More than 90,000 Americans are on the kidney transplant waitlist. Thousands die each year while waiting or after becoming too sick to receive a transplant. These deaths represent an urgent need for more available kidneys.
2. The Act Could Save Thousands of Lives
The legislation's supporters project that substantially increasing living kidney donation could save up to 100,000 lives over ten years.
3. Kidney Transplants Save Taxpayer Money
Medicare spends approximately $50 billion annually treating kidney failure. Economic research by Philip Held, Frank McCormick, and colleagues estimated $403,000 in lifetime taxpayer savings per additional transplant under a modeled donor-payment program, approximately $570,000 in 2026 dollars.
4. More Kidneys Could Reduce Inequities
Low-income Americans and people living in underserved communities often face additional barriers to transplantation. Increasing the supply of kidneys could improve access, although equitable allocation and access to transplant evaluation remain essential.
5. Deceased Donation Cannot Meet the Demand
Only a small fraction of deaths occur under circumstances that allow organ recovery. Even with high donor registration, deceased donation cannot provide enough kidneys for everyone who needs one.
6. Living Kidney Donors Make Extraordinary Sacrifices
Donors undergo extensive testing, surgery, and recovery, often taking time away from work and family. Research by Frank McCormick and colleagues estimated the financial and nonfinancial burdens associated with donation at $37,745 in the study's dollars, approximately $50,000 in 2026 dollars.
7. Living Donation Has Not Grown Enough
Living kidney donations have remained near 6,000 annually for many years despite educational campaigns and improvements in transplantation. New approaches deserve careful evaluation.
8. Living Kidney Transplants Offer Excellent Outcomes
Living donor kidneys generally function longer than deceased donor kidneys. Transplant recipients can gain years of life and substantially improved quality of life compared with remaining on dialysis.
9. Kidney Donors Are Carefully Screened
Living kidney donors undergo extensive medical and psychosocial evaluation. The End Kidney Deaths Act would not change existing donor safety standards. Research also shows high levels of satisfaction among living kidney donors.
10. The Act Offers an Opportunity to Test a New Approach
A ten-year pilot program would allow policymakers to evaluate whether reducing financial disincentives increases non-directed living kidney donation, improves access to transplants, and reduces federal healthcare costs.
Our goal is simple: A country where no one dies waiting for a kidney.