Donate to COTA in Honor of Evie W!

We have hit the 20% mark of our initial fundraising goal!  Thank you so much to all of you who have generously donated this Christmas Season.

Are you considering donating, but curious what your gift would pay for?  No charitable gift is too small, and all donations to COTA in honor of Evie W are tax deductible. The scenario is slightly different for each transplant patient, but here are a few things that apply in Evie's case that are likely applicable for most COTA patients:

Items insurance does not pay for:
$5 - One month supply alcohol wipes for checking blood sugar
$8 - One day of parking at the hospital
$10 - Three month supply of prescribed over the counter vitamins (D, Iron)
$15 - One trip to the hospital (parking and gas)
$20 - One month supply of protein powder supplement
$30 - Parking, gas, and meals for one trip to the hospital
$60 - One year supply of anti-bacterial soap and paper towels (necessary to perform dialysis from home)
$100 - One year of gasoline (for monthly clinic visits)
$200 - Projected monthly co-pay for anti-rejection medication post transplant
$300 - Three months of medicare coverage premiums
$1200 - One year of medicare coverage premiums
$???? - Co-pays, patient's portion of medical procedures, anesthesia, etc.

Other factors to consider:

• Each transplant lasts on average 5-10 years before the body eventually rejects it.  Occasionally a transplanted kidney never functions. At UNC Chapel Hill, the longest running transplant is at 20+ years (this is uncommon).
• The full cost of a kidney transplant at this time is approximately $300,000. With each transplant, the body develops more antibodies. It is projected that Evie will be able to have 4 or 5 transplants before she has too many antibodies to make transplant feasible.
• For the rest of her life, Evie will either be taking anti-rejection medication, or she will be on dialysis. The pre-insurance cost of the anti-rejection medication is estimated at $2,000 monthly. The pre-insurance cost of dialysis supplies is approximately $30,000 monthly. (Transplant is actually cheaper! But most importantly, it provides a better quality of life for the patient.)
• Thankfully Evie is currently covered by her father's medical insurance as well as Medicare (because she has end stage kidney failure).  Medicare ceases coverage 3 years post transplant. Under the affordable care act (obamacare), a child can retain coverage via their parent's insurance until age 26, at which point every parent hopes their child will be able to acquire and pay for sufficient coverage.
• The cost of insurance is increasing. In Evie's family's case, the most important number related to coverage is something called the "Catastrophic Annual Maximum" (the maximum amount her family must pay annually) which will increase by 50% from 2013 to 2014.

Please remember, your donation to COTA in honor of Evie is tax deductible. Your employer may match your donation, multiplying its reach, visit http://www.matchinggifts.com/cota.

If you are a federal employee and would like to contribute to COTA in honor of Evie W as part of the Combined Federal Campaign, specify CFC 11145 on your pledge form. After making your pledge, please photocopy the pledge form and send it to COTA (fax: 812.336.8885 email cota@cota.org) and specify that you want your gift to be designated toward the COTA for Evie W Campaign. Gifts made to COTA through the CFC that are not designated for a campaign will benefit all COTA patients.

Please visit http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforEvieW/ if you are ready to donate now!