Support a Myanmar Teacher's Urgent Kidney Transplant Fund

We are seeking funding to support a young educator in Myanmar. Because of the political situation in the country, we are referring to her as “Jane”. Jane is in her very early 30s, single, and has been working as an Assistant Teacher at an international school for over a decade. She has an excellent reputation as an educator, and is well-liked by all who know her, students and faculty alike.

Two years ago, her kidneys started failing. For the past two years, she had been getting dialysis twice a week. On the days of her dialysis, Jane would go to the hospital in the morning, and then come directly to school to work a half day afterwards. Her work ethic and determination have been inspiring and amazing. Being a local teacher, her salary is nowhere near that of the international teachers. In fact, the average salary of Assistant Teachers at the school is around $75 USD per month! Also unlike the international teachers, the Assistant Teachers work 5 ½ days a week; the half day is on Saturday.

Jane just spent over two weeks in the hospital, and it was determined that she now must get dialysis three times a week. Myanmar does not have free health care. You go to the hospital, doctor, lab, or pharmacy, you pay. Jane’s employer does not offer health insurance for the Assistant Teachers. A week of dialysis will now cost Jane the equivalent of her entire month’s salary. Let me repeat that: one week’s treatment – the treatment that she needs to continue to live – will cost her entire month's salary. That leaves 3 more weeks she can’t pay for. Her recent weeks-long stay in a local hospital cost her the equivalent of just under one year's salary. To pay her bill, she sold her motor scooter (her only transportation). Fortunately, one of the international faculty is giving Jane her scooter, so she will still be able to get to work.

Unlike in some countries, there is not a system of donated kidneys here. People sell their kidneys. If you need a kidney transplant, it will be extremely – prohibitively for the vast majority of citizens – expensive. The person must pay the donor for their kidney, must pay for transportation for both the donor and the recipient to the medical

facility (typically in India), must pay for lodging and food for the donor, must pay the foreign hospital and surgeon for the surgery, and must pay for the medical care following surgery to prevent organ rejection. For perspective, two roundtrip tickets alone from Myanmar to India in June cost around $3,000 USD! Add food, lodging, hospital bills, surgeon bill, and payment to the donor, not to mention all the medical expenses that are part of this illness and process, and you can see why such a life-saving surgery is far beyond the means of someone who makes roughly $1,000 USD per year! We are actively pursuing leads on the possibility of getting the transplant done in Myanmar which, if it can be done safely, would decrease the cost significantly compared to going to India. The estimate below is assuming that the surgery can be done in Myanmar.

We recently learned that Jane is not even on a transplant list – when she found out two years ago how much it would cost to get a used kidney, she immediately realized she would never be able to afford it. For two years, she has been getting dialysis twice a week, working 6 days a week as an outstanding teacher, knowing that she was simply delaying for a short time a very early death. And yet, she is never without a positive attitude and a smile for everyone.

Cost breakdown:

Costs may fluctuate as her condition is currently unstable and other treatments may be needed very soon. We will update this as needed.