A new outreach campaign from the American Society of Transplantation is encouraging employers of all sizes and types to establish a paid leave program for living organ donation.

Twenty-nine states also have policies to give paid leave to organ donors, and many have related legislation pending.

The federal government has had a paid leave policy since 1999, according to AST. At least 40 employers across the nation have similar paid leave policies for live organ donors. Among them is Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, which offers up to six weeks of paid leave for workers who donate an organ.

They don't have to use up their vacation days or sick days in order to take this leave. "Our commitment to our employees and the community is that this was the right thing to do," says Gene Ridolfi, the hospital's administrator of the organ transplant program.

"This was a great opportunity to allow our employees to provide a truly amazing gift - a new lease on life," he adds. This benefit does not have to be costly for employers.

Ridolfi estimates that few employees - "a handful or less" - have used the benefit thus far. "It's not a huge number." But it's surely appreciated by anyone who has a family member with renal disease, he notes.

"It's a great benefit. I can't identify any situations where it's been a problem," he says, adding that he would definitely recommend this benefit to other employers. Bob Waller, president of Association Headquarters, also champions paid leave for donors.

The Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based firm has offered the benefit since 2000. "If we can help even save one life, we feel we have contributed," Waller says. "If our employees want to donate an organ, as a company, we want to support them emotionally as well as financially."

So far, none of the firm's employees have used the benefit, but in general, employees "felt it was very much in line with the culture of the company to offer this kind of benefit," he adds.

Dr. Flavio Vincenti, AST president, notes that "paid leave for employees who give the gift of an organ to another person is gaining momentum in the United States, but the participation of private industry and major institutions is needed to help it grow."

A strong need for organs

Paid leave could help ease the chronic shortage of organs in the United States, where 3,700 new patients are added to the transplant waiting list each month and 18 patients die each day awaiting transplantation, according to the AST.

Living donors (often family members) are responsible for the organs in approximately 50% of kidney transplants, 10% of liver transplants and 2% of lung transplants.

The rest of the transplants involved organs from people who recently died and had agreed to be a donor. There were 6,306 live organ donations in 2007, according to AST.

The recovery period for organ and tissue donation surgery varies by individual, but it is generally one week for bone marrow, four weeks for kidney and up to 12 weeks for liver and lung.

Without paid leave available, many workers would find it financially difficult or impossible to take the time off work to donate an organ and recover from the surgery.

"Living individuals who give a kidney or part of a liver to another person are heroes, and their stories are often told publicly. However, what goes unspoken is that potential living donors often cannot donate because of wages lost from work during recovery from surgery," says Vincenti.

Sometimes workers aren't sure whether their employer offers short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance or fully paid leave specifically for organ donation. They might assume that they cannot afford to take the time off if the benefits are not communicated clearly.

Technical help

AST provides a variety of technical assistance to businesses that want to establish a paid leave policy for organ donors.

The assistance includes a sample human resources policy statement; a booklet that describes organ donation and related employee needs; copies of existing state and federal policies; and a news release template to announce the program.

The outreach campaign includes a new DVD from the AST, which describes how paid leave can help with the ongoing organ shortage.

With AST's help, "it was a no-brainer. It really was not difficult at all" to implement the benefit, Waller says.