San Antonio – A Texas veteran who faced difficulties while seeking living donor compensation through the Veterans Choice Program to change the flaws in the system to help others led the effort.
In July 2022, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will begin paying living donor medical costs for eligible veterans in need of a transplant.
U.S. Army veterans Charles Nelson and his wife Tamara thank you in part for correcting a flaw in the Veterans Choice Program.
Nelson had already used the program for his first kidney transplant. He and his living donor had to travel to another state for surgery.
In 2016, when Nelson needed a second transplant, he wanted to stay in the community at Audie Murphy VA and the University Health System.
“I just want to cross the street, and it saves me a lot of money on the VA system,” says Nelson.
However, months before the transplant, compensation for his son, his living donor, was denied.
“You know, we deal with VA paperwork, bureaucracy, families, health dialysis every day. So it was very frustrating,” Nelson said.
He was able to find a means of covering the live donor.
About a year later, his journey began to become a voice for veterans, and he worked to change policy flaws.
“The restrictions on it have been loosened or loosened a bit, not quite as far as we’d like, but we’re still making progress,” he said.
The Nelsons credit the Audie Murphy VA and the University Health and Transplant Institute with their success in making a difference for other veterans.
Jennifer Milton, chief administrator of the University Health and Transplant Institute, applauds the Nelsons for going public with their extremely difficult and private health journey to save the lives of others.
“The Nelsons are champions of all veterans, indeed, the entire nation owes them immense gratitude, and how wonderful it is that we are celebrating this new change. It’s Veterans Day, and the veterans really carried the torch and made it happen.”
Milton said the change to target living donors would open up access and equity to transplants. She said that since the policy change, the VA and the University Health Transplant Institute are already working with living donors and veterans on transplants.
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