New York’s Living Donor Support Program to Help with Eligible Expenses

On Oct. 22, the New York State Department of Health announced the launch of the Living Donor Support Program. It is intended to help cover eligible expenses associated with the living donation process. Approximately 8,000 New Yorkers are living with organ failure and are waiting for a lifesaving transplant. Most – about 7,000 – have kidney failure.

The fund, operated by the New York State Department of Health, can pay up to $14,000 for certain expenses related to the living donation process when both the living donor and the ultimate recipient of their living donation are residents of New York State. Living donor expenses eligible for reimbursement under the program include travel expenses, lost wages, dependent care expenses and certain unreimbursed medical costs. Detailed information from the Department of Health is online here: https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/donation/living_donor/support.htm

The New York State Assembly and State Senate passed legislation in 2022 to create the program. The bipartisan bill - introduced by Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried - passed both houses with overwhelming support. Governor Kathy Hochul signed it into law at the end of that year. The law called for the program to start in April 2023, contingent on the commissioner of health creating regulations and taking other actions needed for implementation.

The Department of Health said that budget constraints and staff shortages delayed the start of the program, according to reporting by Sam Mellins of the nonprofit news outlet New York Focus.

In 2024, approximately 690 people were removed from the waiting lists of New York State transplant centers because they died or became too sick to transplant before an organ became available for them. 

"This is a new program that allows someone to become a living donor and give a part of yourself to save the life of another. Expenses should not be the barrier that stops a person from choosing to help another in this way," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in an Oct. 22 press release. "There is a great need for organ donation, with far too many patients waiting on the list to receive an organ for transplant. This reimbursement program will remove financial barriers so more New Yorkers can give the gift of life with the peace of mind that their financial needs will be covered."

The Department of Health notes:

To apply for participation in the program, a prospective living donor must submit their application to the transplant center before their donation surgery occurs. The transplant center will add center-specific information to the application and submit it to the Living Donor Support Program. Applications cannot be submitted by prospective donors directly to the program. Prospective living donors approved for participation in the program will be notified of their acceptance and receive instructions as to next steps.

After prospective donors have been accepted into the program and completed the steps required for the Department to be able to reimburse them, they may begin to submit claims for reimbursement on approved forms with receipts of expenses included.

Western New York lawmakers were instrumental in the passage of the legislation to create the program: Assembly co-sponsors included Angelo Morinello (R,C-Niagara Falls), Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo), andDavid DiPietro (R,C-East Aurora), as well as since-retired members Michael J. Norris, Andy Goodell and Joe Giglio; State Senate co-sponsors included George M. Borrello (R,C-Jamestown), Patrick M. Gallivan (R,C-Elma),