DATE: December 7, 2021

Washington, DC (December 7, 2021) – Following the kickoff of its new grant program earlier this year to increase kidney transplants in the United States, the Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) announced today it received nearly four times the anticipated number of grant proposals from nationally recognized institutions across the country.

The significant response, as well as the information contained in the proposals, underscores the key gaps that continue to be prevalent in the kidney transplant system today—issues KTC hopes to address through its grant program funding and advocacy efforts.

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative, a new national non-profit advocacy organization that launched earlier this year, is dedicated to increasing kidney transplants while addressing common challenges and financial barriers recipients and donors experience during the kidney transplant process. KTC will be awarding over $3 million in grants to organizations that are doing innovative work and able to achieve measurable gains in increasing kidney transplants or reducing financial barriers within a two-year timeframe (2022-2023).

“Across the United States, patients in need of kidney transplants face major barriers when trying to navigate the transplant system. These challenges persist through every step of the transplant process, from getting on the waitlist and maintaining your transplant eligibility status, to finding a donor and affording critical post-transplant medications,” said Dr. Rebecca Schmidt, a nephrologist and Professor of Medicine at West Virginia University who sits on KTC’s Board of Directors. “By committing significant funds to initiatives focused on making the transplant system easier to navigate for patients, donors and their loved ones, the Kidney Transplant Collaborative and its grantees can make a meaningful impact to increase kidney transplants and improve health outcomes.”

Common themes and issues emerged from the 70-plus grant letters of intent that KTC received in response to its request for proposals, such as living donor compensation, expansion of the paired and chain kidney donation programs, as well as patient engagement and transparency with organ acceptance and waitlist management. Projects proposed various strategies to address these issues, including educational, medical, technological interventions, engaging in strategic partnerships and implementation of creative models to address staffing, processes and organizational infrastructure.

“The Kidney Transplant Collaborative’s grant program is an important step toward bringing more collaboration to our transplant community,” added Dr. Schmidt. “But first, we must identify the programs that can most effectively address the gaps and disparities that patients and donors face today, many of which have existed for decades, and ensure they have the resources needed for success.”

Following a thorough review by the KTC’s Expert Advisory Panel, the organization expects to announce its grant recipients in late December.

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The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing kidney transplants and decreasing financial obstacles and other problems kidney patients, donors and their families experience with the kidney transplant process. For more details, visit the Kidney Transplant Collaborative website at kidneytransplantcollaborative.com.

Media Contact:
Kathryn Parrish
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703-901-1868