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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

ASAN Unveils Toolkit for Advocates on Ending Discrimination in Organ Transplantation

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has a new toolkit to empower people with disabilities, their families, and other disability advocates to help combat disability-based discrimination in organ transplantation.

As ASAN found in a 2013 report, when people with intellectual and developmental disabilities need an organ transplant to treat a life-threatening condition, they frequently face barriers to receiving this lifesaving care. Doctors and transplant centers may refuse to approve organ transplants for people with disabilities who might need help in order to follow complicated post-transplant treatment plans. Others may refuse to approve transplants for people with disabilities based on the belief that, when deciding who should receive an organ transplant, people without disabilities should have a higher priority. [Read more and download the Toolkit at ASAN’s website…]