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, Leow Cheok Huey, 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 had 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 of 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 (it is) 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. It added that its long-term interests are well protected, with its investment capital placed 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