As a longtime advocate for science-backed public policy, I urge my Congressman Sam Liccardo to cosponsor and champion the bipartisan End Kidney Deaths Act (H.R. 2687) and ensure it is included in this spring’s reconciliation package. The bill represents a rare opportunity to both save lives and dramatically reduce taxpayer spending.
Two years ago, I donated a kidney to a stranger who is alive and living a normal life today. But there are too few who can afford the time off from work in retirement like me and the added expenses of doing this.
This legislation would establish a 10-year pilot program that provides refundable tax credits to Americans who donate a kidney to a stranger – helping patients who have waited the longest and face the highest risk of dying while on dialysis. At a time when more than 90,000 Americans remain on the kidney waitlist, and more than 100,000 have died waiting over the past decade, we can no longer rely on a donation system that leaves so many behind.
Congressman Liccardo’s record of bold, data-driven leadership on housing, safety, and infrastructure shows that he understands the value of innovative policy solutions. He is well positioned to help push this legislation over the finish line. With his role on the pivotal Ways and Means Committee, he has the power to support a proposal that could save up to 100,000 lives and $37 billion over 10 years. That’s real impact for both our communities and our country.
The economics are simple. The federal government spends around $100,000 per year per dialysis patient, adding up to $50 billion annually, or 1% of all tax revenue. Kidney transplantation, on the other hand, is far more cost-effective and results in longer, healthier lives. But the shortage of living donors is the limiting factor. This bill aims to fix that.
I’ve spent most of my career advancing clean energy innovation and sustainable infrastructure. Today, I see an equally compelling opportunity to support sustainable healthcare by encouraging life-saving generosity through smart, ethical incentives. Just as we compensate firefighters and police officers for lifesaving work, we should also support kidney donors – who voluntarily undergo surgery to save the lives of people they may never meet.
The End Kidney Deaths Act builds on a long-standing idea. The lead sponsor of the National Organ Transplant Act said in 1984 that if voluntary donation failed to meet demand, tax credits should be considered. Four decades later, it’s time.
Congressman Liccardo has demonstrated the courage to lead on ambitious policies that others might shy away from. I hope he will take the same approach here by endorsing the End Kidney Deaths Act and helping to move it forward in reconciliation.
Together, we can end preventable deaths from kidney failure – and we can do it in a way that makes both moral and fiscal sense.
Byron is a Los Altos resident.
