Donor Protection

In the unlikely event that a kidney donor experiences post-surgical complications (e.g., hernia, etc.) related to kidney donation, the medical costs of the complication should be paid for by the recipient’s medical insurance.

Sometimes insurance companies or Medicare/Medicaid limit complication coverage, leaving donors financially responsible for complications. The Donor Protection Program (“DPP”) eliminates this problem by protecting the donor utilizing one of the options below.

1. NKR Member Centers that participate in the DPP and sign the Donor Protection Addendum are not billed the Donor Protection fee and agree to pay for all uncovered donor complications (complications that are not reimbursed by the recipient insurance) for all NKR donors that undergo donor surgery at the Member Center.
2. NKR Member Centers that do not participate in the DPP are billed the Donor Protection fee so that the NKR can reimburse all NKR donors who donate at these centers, for any uncovered complication at the Medicare Rate up to the amount in the Donor Protection Reserve.
3. Donor follow up and related costs are the responsibility of the center that performs the donor nephrectomy.