The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) has received significant new funding that it says will “empower the organisation’s mission to reduce barriers in the transplant system with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of individuals able to receive a kidney transplant”. This new funding will enhance the KTC’s legislative efforts regarding living kidney donation and further support awarded grant projects that have achieved successful outcomes towards increasing kidney transplants.
A US national non-profit advocacy organisation, the KTC was founded in 2021 with the goal of reducing barriers for kidney patients, donors and families during the transplantation process. The KTC is funded by Ed and Penelope Peskowitz. Ed Peskowitz is a recipient of a kidney donation.
In February 2022, the KTC announced its inaugural grant recipients, who received funding for projects to improve the kidney transplantation process. This new funding will further support those projects that have shown potential in making a significant impact in increasing kidney transplants. The additional funding will provide the organisations with the ability to implement the projects regionally and nationally, saving more lives through kidney donations.
“I am incredibly proud of the impact the Kidney Transplant Collaborative and its grant recipients have already made in the kidney transplant community. Ed and Penelope Peskowitz’s generous funding has been instrumental in our work towards increasing living kidney donations and reducing barriers in the transplant system,” said Lou Diamond, chair of the KTC. “Thanks to the diligent efforts of many medical professionals, advisers, donors and patients, we are making a real impact in the transplant community.”
The KTC is also advocating for US legislation to address a significant void in living kidney donors. The need for this legislation is, they argue, highlighted by data that shows that over the past 10 years, transplants have increased by 59.6%, and deceased donor transplants are up by 88.2%. However, in the same period, living transplants only increased by 4.3%, emphasising an area for life-saving improvements. The Living Kidney Donor Support Act would create a national living kidney donor program aimed at saving a significant number of lives—with approximately 93,000 Americans currently on the waitlist for a kidney transplant—by increasing the number of kidney transplants while saving Medicare funds.
