The first grant provided by the Foundation went to Donate Life America (DLA), a U.S. nonprofit organization committed to increasing organ donation, to build the first national, universal living donor registry, which is scheduled to go live in the U.S. in 2020. The registry is intended to be a hub for anyone interested in becoming a living donor. As such, it would augment the procedure currently used by transplant centers and hospital networks around the country, which require potential donors to take the time to drive to a chosen location for initial consultation and tests.
With the Foundation’s financial support, DLA will also create an easy-to-use home testing kit for potential living donors, which is expected to be released at the same time as the registry. Using a saliva sample similar to those already offered by ancestry research companies, the kit is designed to provide fast, consumer- friendly screening that will be distributed to patients for use by friends and family members. Once the test has been sent in, the results can be converted to a possible match efficiently and safely. The kit stands to greatly expand the pool of potential matches and cut the average wait time to receive a kidney. The kit and registry combined have the potential to double the number of living donors within a year, estimates Jessie Newman, Fresenius Medical Care North America’s Director of Community Relations.