Financing a transplant

Transplant Living in the United States has published a comprehensive breakdown of the costs associated with a transplant. It is an eye-opener for both patients and families going through a transplant. The charts break costs down separately for the various organs.

The article notes that the cost of a transplant, including preliminary testing, the surgery itself and post-operative recovery costs vary across the country by hospital and organ type. Because these costs start adding up, even before your transplant, it is common for patients to rely on several sources to help pay for all of the medical and non-medical costs of pre- and post-transplantation. For example, billed costs for a double-lung transplant is $543,900 according to the chart. This is billed charges only for the first year following a transplant. Then there's all the other costs to consider as described below. See the chart for costs related to other organs.

Medical costs include:

• insurance deductibles


• insurance co-pays


• pre-transplant evaluation and testing
  surgery


• fees for the recovery of the organ from the donor


• follow-up care and testing


• additional hospital stays for complications


• fees for surgeons, physicians, radiologist, anesthesiologist and recurrent lab testing


• anti-rejection and other drugs, which can easily exceed $2,500 per month


• rehabilitation


Non-medical costs include:

• food, lodging and long distance phone calls for you and your family


• transportation, to and from your transplant center, before and after your transplant


• plane travel to get to your transplant hospital quickly
  child care


• lost wages if your employer does not pay for the time you or a family member spends away from work


• If your transplant center is not close to your home, lodging close to the center before and after your surgery. Some centers offer free or low-cost hospitality houses for you and your family.

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