A private nonprofit organization (www.DOVETransplant.org) is helping Veterans get off the long wait list for a kidney transplant by finding and matching altruistic living kidney donors to them.
There are ~ 2000 Veterans awaiting a lifesaving kidney transplant in the United States. The average wait for a kidney from a deceased donor is 5 years long. Many Veterans will not survive that wait.
Living Kidney donation enables Veterans to avoid this long wait. Living kidney donor surgery is safe; those who donate can live a long, normal life with one kidney and can save a Veteran’s life with their other.
All prospective kidney donors undergo extensive testing by a specialized medical team to ensure donation is safe. All testing and medical care is covered by the transplant center. Costs related to travel, lost wages, childcare are also eligible to be reimbursed through DOVE’s donor fund.
In February 2025, DOVE booked our 53rd Veteran transplant operation. Half of the donors are from military backgrounds or families. The other half are from were motivated as a way to thank a veteran for their service.
The MOAA Magazine, highlighted a DOVE Donor/Recipient pair, Lt. Colonel David Hardaway and Amanda Houlton and spoke about the impact of the DOVE program as well as other initiatives available for Veterans battling kidney disease:
by Hope Hodge Seck from MOAA Magazine, Feb 2025 issue:
https://www.qgdigitalpublishing.com/publication/?i=837978&article_id=4910194&view=articleBrowser
or
https://www.qgdigitalpublishing.com/publication/?i=837978&p=60&view=issueViewer