The Bridge to Transplant Grant
The MCKF Kidney Transplant Grant was developed with the intention of assisting residents of Marion County Florida, with advanced kidney disease, to qualify for a kidney transplant. To be eligible for this grant, residents must have advanced kidney disease, for which they need a kidney transplant. They must meet all the criteria for eligibility for kidney transplantation at least one kidney transplant center that serves patients in the area, but be financially unable to make the emergency deposit required by the specific transplant center.
Deposit amounts and whether they are needed are determined by the transplant team and by the type of insurance patient has. The deposits were created so that Patients will have funds put away for post-transplant medication, co-pays for appointments and tests, lodging while visiting transplant hospital, and travel expenses.
Grant Disclaimers
- Only residents of Marion County Florida are eligible to receive grants from the MCKF.
- Applications will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
- The MCKF board retains sole discretion to approve or reject any application.
- Applications and requests for disbursement of funds must be made through the Grant Reviewer, Social Worker and/or transplant coordinator.
- Financial assistance is subject to the availability of funds.
- The funds must be used as described by the MCKF.
- “The Bridge to Transplant Grant” funds are specifically available for prospective transplant patients to allow them to meet the “Financial Proof of Affordability” that many transplant programs require. Funds are however not accessible pre-transplant.
- An award of the MCKF transplant grant does not guarantee the recipient a transplant.
- MCKF is not affiliated with any transplant center and has no control over the allocation of organs.
- All disbursements will be made directly to the Vendor where applicable.
Recipients
The following “Bridge to Transplant Grants” have been awarded:
- The Winco-MCKF Bridge to Transplant Grant
- The Lakshminarayana-MCKF Bridge to Transplant Grant
- The Rogers-MCKF Bridge to transplant Grant
- The Mary Lanzl-MCKF Bridge to Transplant Grant
Each one of these grants has enabled a patient with kidney failure to get on the kidney transplant waiting list by helping them meet the “emergency deposit” criterion required by the transplant centers. We are grateful to the grant sponsors for making this possible.