NKF says deficit will not affect operations
SINGAPORE: The National Kidney Foundation or NKF said its
commitment to its patients will not be affected despite being in
the red for the first time in a decade.
The organisation recently launched a S$10 million fund to
reimburse needy kidney donors for their medical and insurance
expenses.
51-year-old Teo Eng Hong saw his wife of more than 10 years, Mdm
Leow Cheok Hong suffer through four years of dialysis.
He had offered to donate one of his kidneys to her when she first
had kidney failure but she rejected his offer.
Mr Teo said: “She was afraid that if I donated (my kidney) to her,
later on I might get some other disease. So I told her don't worry
about it, don't think about it.”
Mdm Leow wanted to wait for a kidney from a cadaver, but with an
average waiting time of nine years, Mr Teo insisted they go through
with the transplant operation.
When the NKF reimbursement scheme was announced earlier November,
the National University Hospital, where the transplant operation
was to be conducted, helped Mr Teo apply to the fund.
And Mr Teo said the financial assistance he'd been receiving has
provided him with "a peace of mind".
So far, the fund has paid for Mr Teo's post-surgery checkup, and
will continue to do so for the rest of his life.
The fund also covers potential loss of income up to S$5,000, as
well as hospitalisation and surgical insurance premiums.
To provide an additional safety net for donors, NKF has joined
hands with NTUC Income, to come up with an insurance plan called
the Group Living Policy.
It will offer coverage of up to S$100,000.
Since the NKF reimbursement fund was launched at the start of this
month, it has received only one application. But NKF is hopeful
that as public awareness grows, more people will step forward to
donate their kidney.
NKF said its fund helps to remove financial impediments by
potential donors.
But there are other obstacles to overcome.
Gerard Ee, chairman, National Kidney Foundation, said: "I think
fear, not understanding what it entails, what the operation is
like, how many hours it will take, how does the person feel after
the operation and what are the risks involved of developing
something."
NKF also gave the reassurance that its reimbursement fund and other
operations will not be affected by the deficit it recorded in the
latest fiscal year.
And it said its long term interests are well protected by placing
its investment capital with two fund managers.
Mr Ee added: "Apart from being capital protected, they also provide
a third part bank guarantee, so it’s absolutely safe. And why do we
do that and not put a fixed deposit or just buy government bonds at
just two per cent or 1-something per cent? This is potential of
returns over the next two, three years accumulatively for the fund
manager to outperform it while enjoying the absolute safety."
The organisation also plans to tap into its S$270 million reserves
to make up the deficit.
- CNA/vm