On October 3, members of AST’s leadership went to Washington, DC to meet with key legislators about the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act and Living Donor Protection Act. The AST invited members of the transplant patient community to share their personal end-stage renal disease and transplant stories.
The AST brought three kidney recipients and a kidney-pancreas candidate to over a dozen Congressional offices. The Society plans to include transplant recipients on future trips to Capitol Hill.
The AST has opposed the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act, as it could create serious, unintended consequences for potential kidney transplant recipients. If enacted, we believe the PATIENTS Act will limit patient choice and compromise access and referral to transplantation.
For more information on how the AST is advocating, check out our Public Policy page.