Does It Cost Anything To Donate?

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(NC)-No, the donor's family doesn't pay, or receive payment, for organ and tissue donation. All costs related to donation are paid by local organ procurement programs or transplant centers through provincial health plans. Hospital expenses incurred before the donation of organs, and funeral expenses, remain the responsibility of the donor's family.

Organ transplants, especially kidney transplants, provide tremendous health care cost savings over other treatment alternatives. For example, kidney transplants cost approximately $20,000 plus $6,000 per year thereafter (for anti-rejection drugs), or $50,000 over a five-year period. Dialysis treatment costs about $50,000 per year per patient, roughly $250,000 over a five-year period.

Are we told what organs and tissues were used and to whom they were given?

Your local procurement agency sends letters to donor families telling them which organs were used, the age of the recipient(s) and, sometimes, a few basic details about the person(s). Recipients often write letters of thanks to the donor families. Names are kept confidential and are not given to the donor or recipient families.

Do all religions support organ donation?

Most religions throughout the world support organ and tissue donation as a humanitarian act. You should consider discussing such concerns with your own minister, priest, rabbi, religious advisor or hospital chaplain. For more information visit www.healthcanada.ca/organandtissue on the Internet.

Isn't it a bit insulting for hospital staff to ask for organ/tissue donations at such a time of tragedy and loss?

Organ transplants offer life or a better quality of life to other people. It gives the donor family the opportunity to help others during a time of sadness.

For more information on organ and tissue donation and how you can donate, visit www.healthcanada.ca/organandtissue on the Internet.

About The Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

This article was posted on August 4, 2002