Politicians finally act on matter of life and death
A bill to promote organ donation will make a real difference. Why was it not done years ago?
What’s the going rate on a kidney these days? For Manawatu cafe owner Greg Drohan, the ‘‘gift of life’’ is priceless.
That said, he and his partner Mary – who gave him a kidney – were left out of pocket by at least $5000.
I first spoke to Greg in 2012 for a story on low organ donor rates in the Capital & Coast health district.
We caught up again yesterday, just a few weeks out from his five-year transplant anniversary. ‘‘That’s a celebration we never miss,’’ he laughs. ‘‘I’ve got the restaurant booked already. It’s not lost on us how important that day was to us, and how lucky we are.’’
This week, a cross-party committee of MPs unanimously recommended that Parliament pass National MP Chris Bishop’s member’s bill, which would ensure those people are not hit in the pocket for their altruism.
They also took the step of strengthening the bill further and raising the reimbursement rate from 80 per cent of income, to 100 per cent.
This means a donor will be paid for 12 weeks by the Health Ministry at their weekly rate as they recover. There is no income cap, or any penalties for beneficiaries and the measure applies to foreign donors as well.
‘‘For us it was very tough, and my partner, she got zilch – she got no remuneration while neither of us could run the cafe and we had to pay someone to manage it over the period,’’ Drohan said.
‘‘A bill like this, it surely must make a difference to help people come forward.’’
Hearing Drohan talk about his new lease on life, which followed 21⁄2 years of dialysis, it’s clear this is one move by Parliament that will make an immeasurable difference to the lives of New Zealanders.
It’s understood the funding already has ministerial sign-off should it pass, and it likely will.
But if it’s as easy as that, then it raises some questions.
Currently, about 650 New Zealanders are on dialysis and waiting for a kidney. Last year, 131 donors – both living and deceased – gave organs to help 232 sick recipients.