Urgent: Donna's Battle for Transplant Medication

We are writing to appeal to family and friends on behalf of Donna Sinclair.

***All funds from this campaign are deposited directly into a dedicated trust account set up through Eastern Bank in Donna’s name. Funds will be disbursed accordingly to cover the ongoing medical costs. Organizers of this campaign only have access to the written portion and sharing capabilities, and do not have access to any financial information or donations.***

In 2018, a fundraiser was held for Donna to raise money for the extensive and endless costs associated with organ transplants. Donna was End-Stage COPD awaiting placement on a double-lung transplant list.

In planning the fundraiser, she was presented with many options- GoFundMe, personal fundraising efforts, or assistance from an organization called The National Foundation for Transplants.

This organization had boasted itself to be the better alternative to other fundraising campaigns, highlighting the benefits of their assistance. They claimed that while platforms such as GoFundMe can have negative impacts such as: tax liability, donation fees, potential loss of benefits- with NFT, you would face NONE of this. In addition, they would also provide you with campaign materials, funding plans, press releases. The donated funds would be held in an account managed by NFT and dispersed accordingly to cover the ongoing medical costs, reimbursements etc.

In part, their former website read “When you review how our fundraising platform compares with GoFundMe, you'll see why so many patients and their families choose us.”

The terminology used with recipients was verbiage such as “YOUR fundraiser”, “YOUR donations”.

On June 29, 2018, friends, family and an amazing community raised a grand total of $17,199.68. The funds were turned over to NFT where a representative confirmed that “the donations should be posted to Donna’s page by the end of the week”. In total, more than $30,000 was raised by friends, family and supporters.

On December 11, 2018, Donna received her new lungs! For the last five years, those funds have been managed and disbursed appropriately. A few short weeks ago, an email was sent out announcing that NFT would be closing its doors. With thousands in funds remaining, Donna and her family are left asking “WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY? How will the medication be covered?” While insurance covers a portion, there are still co-pays and miscellaneous transportation costs to MassGeneral to meet with transplant team etc.

What was grossly misunderstood by many recipients- including Donna’s family- was the fact that these donations did not belong to the recipient at all. Any donations made were “unrestricted donations” to NFT made “IN HONOR” of Donna. A FAQ notice sent out reads, in part, “Gifts previously made in your honor have been utilized for serving transplant patients and community.” It appears the donations have dissolved with the company.

Donna is undoubtedly not the only transplant survivor enduring this nightmare. A transplant patients continued survival depends on taking a number of medications including anti-rejection medications FOREVER. Many of these costs are not covered by insurance companies, and most people do not have the funds available to sustain all these costs in their own. This is what the fundraiser was held for!

Donna has already fought for her life once— AND WON— and now, she is left fighting for it again. Without the medications, the life that she fought so hard for, will be cut short.

We come to you now with this desperate, time sensitive plea to help raise the money to ensure Donna continues to receive her medications. This is a situation that nobody expected, and one nobody should ever have to face.

We are now in a race against time, as nothing will be covered effective April 30th, 2024.

We thank you for your ongoing prayers and support as we navigate this devastating situation.