Live kidney donation is considered the best treatment for someone who has kidney disease.
Donating a kidney will make a real difference to the life of a person with kidney disease. But it is a big decision. You need to have a good understanding of what live kidney donation is all about.
Go to Live Kidney Donation Aotearoa for information on donating a kidney.
Compensation for donors
Under the Compensation for Live Donors Act, people who have loss of earnings because they are recovering from donating an organ will be eligible for compensation. That can be because they’ve taken unpaid leave from work, or for self-employed people because they can’t work during their recovery period.
Compensation you can receive
Donors will receive 100% of the earnings they’ve lost during their recovery from the donor surgery, for a maximum of 12 weeks.
They can also receive reimbursement for expenses, such as travel to the donor centre – see Travel assistance for more information.
Applying for compensation
Anyone donating an organ will deal with a coordinator or renal social worker at the transplant service or their local hospital, who will be able to help them. They will normally have to apply at least 60 days before the donation surgery.
The Ministry of Health is developing systems and processes to meet the requirements of the Act.
When eligibility starts
The Act will come into effect no later than 5 December 2017, but donors can be compensated for any lost earnings from the 12th of September 2016 (not including any time taken off before surgery).
For example, if someone had donor surgery on 20 November 2016 and was ready to go back to work on 15 January 2017, they could apply for compensation for lost earnings for the period from 6 December 2016 to 15 January 2017.
People eligble for backdated compensation will have 120 days after the Act comes into effect to apply for compensation. Compensation will be paid in arrears after the legislation comes into effect.
Limitations
The donor and transplant surgery has to be done in New Zealand, and the recipient has to be eligible for publicly funded health services in New Zealand. The donation and transplant must be done lawfully.
Find out more
- Compensation for live donors – information on the new Act, when it comes into effect, what transitional provisions are in place, and how compensation is assessed.