But no insurance plan covers all related expenses, which are significant. Transplant costs can vary tremendously based on a number of factors. Generally transplants cost between $100,000 (kidney) and $800,000 (multiple organs). Additionally, follow-up medications and medical care costs often exceed $10,000 annually.

Many transplant families have insurance coverage (including private pay plans and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid), but most insurance providers require a family to pay an annual deductible that can exceed $10,000. Even plans with low deductibles require a copayment for each visit to the doctor, clinic appointment or test … no plan pays all transplant-related expenses. Even a 'solid' insurance plan will only cover 80% of the 'normal and customary' expenses incurred within the pre-determined network or at a specific hospital.

Once at the transplant center, families face overwhelming transplant-related expenses including medication;

transportation to and from the transplant center; lodging, and day-to-day expenses while parents are out of work and often living with the child in another city at the transplant center. Typically these out-of-pocket expenses add up to tens of thousands of dollars for transplant families; lifetime totals can easily exceed $1,000,000.

Even with solid insurance coverage, very few families have the resources to meet these tremendous financial demands. When faced with the burden of a child's potentially fatal diagnosis, most families need help. In cases where a fund shortfall exists, COTA helps transplant families to bridge the financial gap.

How COTA Gives Hope

The backbone of COTA's nationwide success is its network of selfless volunteers -- COTA Miracle Makers. Individuals and organizations work tirelessly to launch COTA Community Campaigns that raise funds in honor of a child. Each local COTA volunteer team is chaired

by a Community Coordinator who is then assisted by other volunteers including a Public Relations Coordinator and a Webmaster.

This community campaign leadership team, plus a larger group of volunteers from the community, works for six to nine months raising funds in honor of their COTA child. COTA provides assistance for these local volunteer teams including online campaign resources; templates for fundraising events with step-by-step instructions for planning, hosting and evaluating activities; media templates; social networking tips; volunteer recruitment and retention assistance,
and in-person, online and telephone
access to COTA's team of fundraising, communications and web professionals.
All funds raised are managed by COTA
and are used to meet the family's unmet financial expenses before, during and after the child's life-saving transplant.

COTA staff members train local campaign volunteers and offer ongoing support via telephone and the Internet