In case you hadn't noticed, I am a huge fan of donating, and I don't mean just money or time. I like all kinds of donation, and I immensely support blood and organ donations. I am still saving my kidney for someone in particular at this point, but I am registered organ donor and blood marrow donor. In the Celebration of Life and children this week, I wanted to make sure we focused on organ donation for children with the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA). Transplant procedures can vary, usually from $100,000 -$800,000, and though many families have insurance, the costs not covered by insurance and outside of the transplant surgery can add up to a great deal. For example, what if the family has to travel a long way and stay for an extended period of time while a child has transplant surgery or other procedures before and after it? What about the ongoing medical needs, prescriptions and other care the child needs prior to the surgery and after? Plus every serious illness, particularly in a child, can require a great deal of sacrifice from family, including one or more caregivers losing time at work. Organizations like COTA help families by assisting in fundraising, distribution, and in this area, though I am sure there remains so much more help they need when dealing with such serious illnesses.
Additionally, post-transplant medications and medical care costs often add up to more than $10,000 annually.
Most insurance providers require a family to pay an annual deductible that can exceed $10,000 and require a co-payment for each visit to the doctor, clinic or for individual medical tests. No plan pays all transplant-related expenses and even a ‘solid’ insurance plan may only cover 80% of the ‘normal and customary’ expenses incurred within a pre-determined network or at a specific hospital.
Even with insurance coverage, very few transplant families have the resources to meet these tremendous financial demands. When faced with the burden of a child’s potentially fatal diagnosis, most families need help. http://cota.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/COTA-FAQs.pdf
What does COTA do?
The Children’s Organ Transplant Association helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support.
How It Works
COTA will guide you and your volunteers through every step of the fundraising process including:
- Organizing and training volunteers.
- Planning successful events and activities.
- Working with your local media.
- Using online, web-based resources for communications and fundraising.
- Finding multiple sources of funding.
COTA provides information to your community to assure them the funds raised for transplant-related expenses are raised ethically and used appropriately. Because COTA is the administrator of the money raised in your community, these funds are not taxable income and do not jeopardize participation in assistance programs. Additionally, COTA offers each patient fundraising campaign a challenge grant of up to $5,000.
ALSO:
Throughout our journey in philanthropy for Donations by the Dozen, we will see organizations like this who help the families with the additional burden of costs insurance doesn't cover or other areas beyond help they may receive from other sources, and families truly need this valuable assistance. The story in this link http://cota.org/st-louis-toddler-receives-kidney-from-facebook-follower/ gives you an idea of the story of just one child and an amazing kidney donor found, of all places, on Facebook.
I feel the COTA system behind this is valuable to all of us, especially those of you who are frequented with GoFundMe assistance who know how much need a family can have when going through a hardship. The COTA system is only for children and young adult organ transplant costs, but the idea behind holds far ore benefits to raise funds in a systematic, tax deductible manner, unlike some of the other fundraising platforms. Also, by being specialists in this area and having a network of more than 200,000 Miracle Makers and other resources to maximize fundraising. "Throughout the country, people have become COTA Miracle Makers and organized fundraisers in honor of COTA families, advocated on behalf of transplant patients, participated in COTA fundraising events, and made gifts to further COTA’s life-saving mission." (http://cota.org/give/become-a-miracle-maker/)
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Thanks and cheers to charity, m
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