Kidney Transplant

[Kirk]

I am 100% p&t sc for renal failure requiring dialysis. I just had a kidney transplant last month. In reading the CFR it says that a kidney transplant qualifies for 100% for one year post transplant and then it is rated as renal insufficiency not less than 30%. Under renal failure requiring regular dialysis it lists it as 100% p&t.

Having been on dialysis for 9 years and 100% p&t for 8 years will I be reduced one year from my transplant? I'm really unclear on this. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks,

Kirk

[broncovet]

Many people have tried to predict "what the VA will do" without success, in part, because the VA is famous for applying, or not applying regulations, in an inconsistent manner as they see fit. That being said, I dont think they will reduce your rating... I think they have to have "material improvement" to reduce a P and T rating.

[JamesBreckenridge]

"Permanent and Total" actually refers to Non Service Connected Pension. I think what you meant was that you are service connected for renal failure evaluated at 100 percent.

Before I say anything more, have the doctors said anything about still needing dialysis (even if it's just LESS dialysis?) after the transplant?

I am 100% p&t sc for renal failure requiring dialysis. I just had a kidney transplant last month. In reading the CFR it says that a kidney transplant qualifies for 100% for one year post transplant and then it is rated as renal insufficiency not less than 30%. Under renal failure requiring regular dialysis it lists it as 100% p&t.

Having been on dialysis for 9 years and 100% p&t for 8 years will I be reduced one year from my transplant? I'm really unclear on this. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks,

Kirk

[dsgsr]

"Permanent and Total" actually refers to Non Service Connected Pension. I think what you meant was that you are service connected for renal failure evaluated at 100 percent.

I am 100% Permanent and Total AND Service Connected. You may want to check your Info.?

David

[jbasser]

You answered your own question. If the regs state that your condition will be re evaluated and you are no longer on Dialysis, then you should amd most likely be reduced to a level of disability that commesurates with your condition.

VA Comp may state Permanent and Total but nothing is permanent and total unless you fall under the 20 year rule.

There are protections for 10 years also but these protections are for severance of Service connection and do not touch periodic adjustments due to re evaluations.

James is actually correct as Permanent and total does not mean that the VA cannot examine you at will and reduce you upon improvement of a condition. Permanent and total for compensation purposes just means a condition is considered to be static with little room for improvement, but with a transplant, wether it be heart, Kidneys, or lungs, as long as they are successful does improve the conditon.

Hang in there.

J

[vaf]

The regs say you are to be reviewed one year post op after a kidney transplant. The good news at best is that you're off dialysis and have at least one functioning kidney. The not so good news is that the VA will want to reduce your rating to 30%. I was working with a veteran who the VA overlooked for that one year post-op C & P exam, but they caught up with him 12 years later and ordered the examination, and then proposed to reduce him. The regs say that if a veteran has a rating for five or more years, the VA must prove evidence of sustained improvement, and it can't be based on just one exam. It also states that the follow-up exams must be as thorough as the original C & P exam that resulted in the vet's 100% rating.

He didn't want to go through the trouble of fighting the reduction, which was his choice, but I reminded him that the conditions that were secondary outcomes of the immunosuppressant drug therapy he had been taking for years, to include skin cancer, GERD, gall stones that led to surgery, and other conditions should be claimed. I haven't heard from him lately, so I hope he contacted a VSO or someone to follow through.

[Pete53]

He didn't want to go through the trouble of fighting the reduction, which was his choice, but I reminded him that the conditions that were secondary outcomes of the immunosuppressant drug therapy he had been taking for years, to include skin cancer, GERD, gall stones that led to surgery, and other conditions should be claimed. I haven't heard from him lately, so I hope he contacted a VSO or someone to follow through.

VAF

You hit the nail on the head. Although he is better without dialysis he still has a foreign kidney and lots of problems associated with them.