title: Financial Burden Borne by Laparoscopic Living Kidney Donors.
abstract: Living kidney donors have donation-related out-of-pocket costs (direct costs) and/or ongoing daily expenses while losing income (indirect costs). Yet there is little information about how much of a subjective burden these constitute for the donors.
  
  
  
  From December 2003 through December 2014, we surveyed donors 6 months postdonation to determine their financial burden related to donation (on a scale of 1 to 10) and what resources were used to cover expenses.
  
  
  
  Of 1136 surveyed, 796 (70%) responded. Among respondents, mean age at donation was 43.6 ± 10.6 years, 64% were women, 96% were white, and 53% were related by blood to their recipient. Overall, 26% scored their financial burden as 5 or higher; 8% scored it as 8 or higher. Increased expenses were associated with a higher reported burden; however, significant burden was reported by some with no out-of-pocket expenses (presumably due to lost wages and continuing expenses). The burden was scored as 5 or higher by 27% of those employed outside the home (n = 660), 15% homemakers, 13% retirees, 40% students; 28% unemployed; and 26% whose occupation was unknown. Over half (51%) of those receiving a local or (means-tested) national grant still reported moderate to severe burden. Besides grants, donors used a variety of sources to help offset expenses: dipped into savings, borrowed from friends or family, took out a loan, and/or had a fundraiser. Those with the highest burden reported using the most additional sources.
  
  
  
  Donors should not have to incur costs or a financial burden to donate; the transplant community should strive to make donation financially neutral.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Social Work, MHealth, Minneapolis, MN. 2 Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 3 Department of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 4 Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Jennifer F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wiseman
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Dawn B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Garvey
authors.forename: Hassan N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Matas
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D057172:Economic Recession; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D017048:Health Care Costs; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000191:economics; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States