The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has released its 5th annual Living Donor Report Card, ranking all 50 US states and the District of Columbia on how well their legislation and regulations protect living organ donors and encourage living organ donation.
The report grades states on 7 categories, including protection from discrimination by life, disability, and long-term insurers; job-protected leave from private employers; job-protected leave from public employers; tax credits for employers who provide paid leave; direct reimbursements, tax credits, or tax deductions for donor expenses; paid leave via state family and medical leave laws; and extended family and medical leave of more than 60 days.
Thirteen states received a grade of D or F, indicating that they have few or no policy incentives for living organ donation. This was a slight improvement over 15 on last year’s report.
New Hampshire moved from an F to a D grade, and Mississippi improved from a C to a B grade by passing living donor antidiscrimination legislation aimed at insurers. Michigan improved to receive a B grade by introducing a onetime tax credit for nonmedical expenses related to transplant surgery. The national average grade was C.
Only 6 states received an A grade: Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, and Oregon. However, this was an improvement over just 3 states last year. While Arkansas and Connecticut retained their A rating from 2024, Louisiana was downgraded from an A to C.
“It’s been five years since we initially launched the Living Donor Protection Report Card and we are proud that since that time, 24 states have enacted vital legislation to support those who give thousands a second chance at life,” said LaVarne A. Burton, president and CEO of the AKF. “However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that a person’s ability to donate a kidney isn’t determined by where they live.”
To that end, Burton encouraged Congress to reintroduce the Living Donor Protection Act to establish baseline protections nationwide.
Source: Press release
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