Can I Get Lost Wages Reimbursement for Kidney Donation?
If you decide to become a living kidney donor, you will need to take some time off work for surgery and recovery.
Most kidney donors require between one and four days to recover in the hospital and a few weeks to recover at home. Most people are back at work within six weeks, but many people can’t afford to lose income for that long.
Short-term disability may be an option if your employer offers it, but that only replaces about half your wages, which is insufficient for many people.
To ensure living donors do not have to suffer lost income as a result of their generous decision to donate a kidney, the National Kidney Registry’s Donor Shield program offers living donor financial assistance, including lost wage reimbursement up to a maximum of $2,000 per week for up to 12 weeks.
Using Donor Shield for lost wage reimbursement means you do not have to use short-term disability or any of your vacation or sick time for your kidney donation—you can keep that time to use for your future personal needs.
How to Qualify for Lost Wage Reimbursement for Donors
There are several ways to qualify for Donor Shield wage reimbursement.
If you donate to a stranger through the NKR’s Family Voucher Program, you are automatically covered by Donor Shield and are eligible to apply for lost wage reimbursement.
If you donate your kidney to someone specific, to qualify for lost wage reimbursement through Donor Shield, you must either donate on behalf of your intended recipient through the NKR’s Standard Voucher Program or donate directly to your intended recipient at a Donor Shield Direct center. You can also qualify by participating in an NKR paired exchange or “swap.” Find a participating center.
If you are donating to a family member or loved one for whom you will be the primary caregiver during their recovery after they receive their transplant, lost wage reimbursement is especially important, because you can use Donor Shield for lost wage reimbursement during your donation surgery and recovery, then use vacation or other time off to take care of your loved one.
No financial or income information is required from the recipient, and eligibility is not tied to income for either the donor or the recipient.
How to Apply for Lost Wage Reimbursement for Donors
Lost wage reimbursement through Donor Shield is a simple process. All reimbursement requests will go through your transplant center, initiated by your assigned transplant coordinator or social worker.
After you notify your transplant coordinator that you would like to apply for lost wage reimbursement, you will receive an email from your transplant center inviting you to apply.
You will need to provide some information and documents, including pay stubs, your Social Security number, and your banking information. All lost wage reimbursements are made via ACH (direct deposit to your bank) within approximately 10 business days after you have submitted your application.
Lost wage reimbursement beyond three weeks requires additional clearance from the transplant center.
Lost Wage Reimbursement for Liver Donors
Donor Shield offers the same lost wage reimbursement to living liver donors. In fact, if you donate both your kidney and your liver (at different times, of course), you can claim lost wage reimbursement twice, up to the $24,000 maximum for each donation.