Johns Hopkins University, National Kidney Foundation and Novartis team up to help patients

find living donors

The White House-hosted Organ Summit is an essential step towards increasing access to organ transplants and reducing the organ waiting list.  At the Organ Summit, the Administration and private entities will announce a new set of actions that will build on the Administration’s previous accomplishments to improve outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants and improve support for living donors.

At the White House Organ Summit today the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) announced a new collaboration with Johns Hopkins University and Novartis to nationally launch the Live Donor Champion Program.  Developed by transplant surgeon Dr. Dorry Segev at Johns Hopkins University, the Live Donor Champion Program aims to overcome common barriers to finding a living kidney donor—a need for more education about living donation; and a reluctance to start a conversation about donation among transplant candidates.

Working with Johns Hopkins University and Novartis, National Kidney Foundation will use its vast networks to disseminate a comprehensive set of educational resources to transplant centers nationwide.  The Champions program will teach people how to use their own personal connections and social networks to raise awareness about the need for kidney donors; and help to identify potential live donor candidates for a family member, friend or themselves.

Click for the full press release.   You can also watch the White House Organ Summit live.

Update:

View the White House’s Fact Sheet on commitments made by the Administration.