Congresswoman should champion the End Kidney Deaths Act [opinion]

Beth Ann Foeppel

For MediaNews Group

In U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s district alone, nearly 1,000 constituents are on dialysis. Tragically, dialysis has an annual death rate of 20%. That means approximately 200 preventable deaths each year just in one part of southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationally, 800,000 Americans live with kidney failure. That number is expected to exceed 1 million by 2030. Right now, about 90,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant. Half of them will die before they receive one.

I’m writing to urge our congresswoman to cosponsor and champion the End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687). This legislation could dramatically reduce preventable deaths from kidney failure and change countless lives for the better.

The End Kidney Deaths Act proposes a 10-year pilot program that offers a refundable tax credit of $10,000 per year for five years, a total of $50,000, to individuals who donate a kidney to a stranger. These donations would be directed to patients who have been waiting the longest. By the end of the pilot, this program could help enable up to 100,000 transplants and save taxpayers as much as $37 billion. It would be a public health win, a financial win and a moral win.

Living kidney donors are heroes. They are thoroughly screened and carefully followed by transplant teams. Most return to full health and live normal, active lives. Some donors go on to run marathons or triathlons. Their generosity means healthier lives for transplant recipients and less reliance on dialysis, a treatment that is expensive, exhausting and painful.

Donors’ medical costs are covered by the recipient’s insurance, and several support programs help with travel, lodging and lost wages. But the financial burden remains a major barrier. That is where the End Kidney Deaths Act comes in. It does not pay people to donate. It removes financial disincentives, so those who want to save a life are not punished for doing so.

Houlahan has shown consistent leadership on health care issues. By supporting H.R. 2687, she can help protect patients, support donors, and save lives. She can stand with families in our region who have suffered through years of dialysis or died waiting for a transplant. She can be part of the solution.

This is not a fringe idea. It has bipartisan support. It is backed by doctors, patients, economists, and advocates. Californians wait 10 years for a transplant. Pennsylvanians wait close to seven. By year five on dialysis, only four in ten patients are still alive. Kidney failure does not discriminate by political party, income, or ZIP code. This is a national crisis, and it demands action.

Every year we wait, more people die who could have been saved. That is why we need leaders like Houlahan to act now. The End Kidney Deaths Act gives us a chance to move from crisis to solution. It honors the bravery of living donors and gives real hope to those still waiting.

I urge the congresswoman to stand with her constituents and cosponsor the End Kidney Deaths Act. Help us end the wait. Help us end kidney deaths.

Foeppel resides in Chester Springs. Her son had a kidney transplant at the age of 20.