Hospital employee gets paid leave for donating kidney

ATLANTA - A respiratory therapist at Piedmont Hospital has become the first hospital employee there to receive a paid leave of absence after she donated a kidney to her husband. <br> <br> Sonya McIntosh of McDonough donated the kidney to her husband, David McIntosh, on Friday. Both were recovering Tuesday at Piedmont. <br> <br> A bill pending in the state Senate would offer state employees and public officers paid leave to donate organs. <br> <br> Workers who donate a kidney, lung lobe, liver segment or pancreas would receive up to 30 days of paid leave. Bone marrow donors would receive a week of paid leave. <br> <br> The bill passed the House Feb. 4 and is now awaiting debate in the Senate. <br> <br> Piedmont said it is the second employer to offer the ``living donor leave&#39;&#39; policy. The National Kidney Foundation of Georgia approved a similar policy in January 2000. <br> <br> More than 1,300 Georgians are on national organ transplant waiting lists, with about 1,000 of those needing a new kidney.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/196920