The American Society of Transplantation (AST) has launched an outreach campaign to encourage employers to grant paid leave to workers who act as live organ donors.
Paid leave could also help ease the chronic shortage of organs in the United States, where 3,700 new patients are added to the transplant waiting list each month and 18 die each day awaiting transplantation, according to an AST prepared statement.
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At present, at least 40 institutions and corporations have paid-leave policies for live donors, AST says. In addition, 29 states have policies and many have related legislation pending. The federal government has had a paid-leave policy since 1999.
“Paid leave for employees who give the gift of an organ to another person is gaining momentum in the U.S., but the participation of private industry and major institutions is needed to help it grow,” said AST President Flavio Vincenti, MD.
The new outreach campaign is in support of the AST’s Employee Leave and Organ Donation Program, which provides assistance and education to employers in establishing a paid-leave program for living organ donation.
