Amy Stiefel-Fresh is a resident of Milton.
Nearly 2,396 people in Delaware are on dialysis, dying at a rate of 22% annually. I would like to express my gratitude to our Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., for agreeing to co-sponsor the End Kidney Deaths Act (House Resolution 2687). This bill would provide living kidney donors refundable $10,000 tax credits each year for five years, compensating those who donate to strangers. By encouraging more living donations, this law could save up to 100,000 lives in the next decade and save taxpayers billions of dollars!
Kidney donation has saved my 26-year-old nephew twice. Born with prune belly syndrome, he received a kidney transplant from a living donor at just 3 years old. At 12, complications from scar tissue forced an emergency surgery. He contracted swine flu and spent 30 days in an induced coma. That ordeal damaged his donated kidney. In 2010, he received a second kidney, from a deceased donor. It was a perfect match, until it failed in 2024. For the past year, and currently, Blake has to be hooked up to a machine four days a week, fighting to survive, with little hope for another transplant.
Dialysis is a brutal, exhausting treatment, and it only prolongs life, without restoring health. Blake’s body and heart have suffered greatly since starting dialysis. His story is heartbreaking but far too common. The reality is that thousands of people on the national waitlist die unnecessarily every year.
Living-donor kidneys last twice as long as deceased-donor kidneys and offer better survival and quality of life. Yet only about 400 people donate to strangers each year. This bill would change that. The End Kidney Deaths Act would boost these donations by compensating donors fairly for their bravery and sacrifice. The federal government spends $50 billion a year on dialysis — a costly treatment compared to transplantation. Kidney transplants save lives and cost less. If someone is willing to undergo surgery to save another person, they deserve help with the financial burden that come with it. This is a clear win for donors, recipients and taxpayers alike.
I urge Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons, both D-Del., to join Rep. McBride and the growing number of lawmakers supporting this lifesaving legislation. Delaware loses over 200 individuals each year to kidney failure — deaths that could be prevented if this measure passes.
Our fellow Delawareans, and Blake, deserve more than life and death on dialysis. Let’s give them hope! Let’s end kidney deaths in Delaware and across the country.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
