Statement by Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation and a kidney transplant recipient, on the Living Donor Protection Act (LDPA) (H.R. 4583 and H.R. 4582) being introduced in the House.
Washington, DC (July 23, 2025) - "We applaud Representatives Bacon and Nadler for their continued leadership on the Living Donor Protection Act. Taking this new approach of splitting the bill to ensure a smoother passage is an appropriate and needed step. These bills are a bipartisan approach to address the national organ shortage crisis, remove barriers to transplantation and recognize the courage and generosity of those who choose to save lives through donation. We urge Congress to pass this legislation quickly."
About the Living Donor Protection Act
The LDPA would protect living organ donors from discrimination in obtaining life, disability, and long-term care insurance and ensure that they are covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The National Kidney Foundation has led advocacy efforts on the LDPA for nearly a decade, successfully helping to pass similar protections in more than 30 states. NKF is encouraged to see growing support across the transplant and patient community for this new strategy—splitting the bill into two parts to facilitate smoother passage through Congress. H.R. 4582 and H.R. 4583 represent the House companion bills to S. 1552 in the Senate.
You can read more about H.R. 4582 here and H.R. 4583 here.
You can read more about the Senate version of LDPA here.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.
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Media Contact: Paul McGee
paul.mcgee@kidney.org or 716.523.6874