The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) awarded HonorBridge one of their exclusive grants for their project aimed to help increase kidney transplants and reduce barriers among patients and donors. Following a highly competitive selection process that elicited more than 70 letters of intent from organizations across the country, five projects were selected by a panel made up of transplant surgeons, transplant recipients and policy experts to receive funding from the KTC. HonorBridge was awarded more than $405,000 for this grant.
The panel considered a variety of factors, including health equity, diversity of approach, feasibility, innovation, and potential to increase kidney transplants in a 24-month period. HonorBridge’s recognized project, “Kidney Transplant in Rapid Organ Recovery from Donation after Uncontrolled Circulatory Death Occurs” will develop a new, improved system for recovery and tracking kidney donation outcomes. With over 3,000 North Carolinians currently waiting for a kidney transplant, the goal is to increase the number of deceased kidney donors so that more people receive their life-saving transplant.
“HonorBridge is grateful that the KTC chose our project to move forward. We are excited to explore this opportunity to potentially expand kidney donation in our community,” said Kim Koontz, Chief Operating Officer of HonorBridge.
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.
“The projects we selected have great potential to increase kidney transplants and reduce patient and donor barriers over the next two years. Their outcomes and the lessons we’ll learn along the way are critical to helping individuals impacted by kidney disease,” said Michael Rees, MD, PhD, CEO of Rejuvenate Kidney Transplant Solutions, CEO of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) and Professor/Surgical Director of Renal Transplantation at the University of Toledo Medical Center, who also serves on the KTC’s Expert Advisory Panel.
Nationally, over 100,000 men, women, and children, including more 3,000 North Carolinians, are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. To register your decision to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor, visit Register as a Donor.
