The FAIR Foundation is dedicated to fair and equitable distributions of Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) research funds for all diseases, including the sixteen that kill a million more Americans than AIDS.

Introduction: The FAIR Foundation was formed because of the inequities in disease research spending by Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and because of America's organ-donor crisis. Samples of bio-medical research inequities are as follows:

Ø The funding given HIV/AIDS over other diseases, including the sixteen diseases that kill a million more Americans than HIV/AIDS annually. For example, $26 and $42 is spent on each patient with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes respectively compared to $3,032 on each patient with HIV/AIDS even though diabetes kills more Americans than HIV/AIDS and breast cancer combined and CVD kills 864,000 annually versus 14,110 for HIV/AIDS.

Ø The amounts spent on the “Health Effects of Climate Change,” "Global Warming Climate Change" and "Climate Change" are greater than the funding for each of these: brain cancer, cystic fibrosis, autism, Down Syndrome, SIDS, child leukemia, cerebral palsy, COPD, Huntington's Disease, Hodgkin’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, uterine cancer and over six thousand other illnesses.

This site will demonstrate the need to reform the public policies used to determine funding distributions by the National Institutes of Health and the need for new organ-donor policies.

FAIR is an acronym for "Fair Allocations In Research."

Our Missions: fair and equitable distribution of research funds by our government for all diseases. A disease’s mortality rate shall be given emphasis in determining allocations, and other secondary factors shall be utilized to insure diseases that cause great suffering but have low mortality rates will also receive significantly increased funding.

: pre- and post-transplant care of patients, organ and tissue donor awareness and the need for new donor policies in the USA to reverse America's organ-donor crisis of one person on the waiting list dying every hour and 105,000+ waiting, a number that continues to rise. You may easily contact your Congresspersons today utilizing zip code technology to express your support for pilot projects of new organ donor policies.

Board of Directors: Please take a moment to review our 27-member Board of Directors consisting of physicians, dentists, pharmacists and disease advocates who want fair and equitable bio-medical research distributions for all diseases and new organ donor policies to insure that more lives are saved through transplantation. They invite you to join their efforts by becoming a FAIR Foundation member today. Membership is free.

Profile: Dr. Richard Darling, a California dentist, founded the FAIR Foundation after surviving hepatitis C, diabetes, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, coma, heart attack, hepatorenal syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy (myasthenia gravis) and three liver transplant operations.

This site and his book, Coma Life, detail how the unfairness in the distribution of funds directly affects all diseases, including the sixteen diseases (The 16) that kill more people in the United States than AIDS. Coma Life also educates on the need for new organ-donor policies to reverse America's organ-donor crisis.

Born and raised in Barre, Vermont, Dr. Darling, 63, was educated at Syracuse University, the University of Denver, and graduated from the University of the Pacific Dental School, San Francisco. He was named National Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers for his work with the FAIR Foundation, Coma Life, and helping patients in need of transplant in the FAIR Foundation Liver Disease & Transplant Support Group that he founded which has helped hundreds of patients and been instrumental in their lives being saved with transplant. If you or someone you know is suffering from severe liver illness without referral for transplant, phone Dr. Darling for help at 760-200-2766. Dr. Darling has given close to 400 speeches promoting fair allocations of research and the testing of new organ-donor policies and he clarifies the facts versus the myths regarding the “Gift of Life.”

Genesis: In 1999 when Dr. Darling was becoming very ill yet again, he viewed an ABC network 20/20 segment by reporter John Stossel entitled “Disease Politics.” It was produced with facts supplied by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and graphically illustrated the unfair governmental bias that significantly favors AIDS over all other diseases, including the sixteen that kill more Americans than AIDS.

“Disease Politics” introduced a courageous Parkinson’s Disease patient, Joan Samuelson, and her unending efforts to get more funding for Parkinson’s Disease, which is grossly under funded by the NIH. Dr. Darling was so inspired by Ms. Samuelson’ fight for justice and John Stossel’s reporting that he vowed to start a national organization to correct the unfair NIH and Congressional allocation inequities if he was blessed with a third transplant. Dr. Darling received the “Gift of Life” and, thus, the FAIR Foundation was born.

In "Disease Politics" Congressman Istook of Oklahoma addresses this issue eloquently and states, "Getting NIH funding is 100 times greater if one has a politically correct disease."

Joan Samuelson, J.D., has persevered to be President of the Parkinson’s Action Network. John Stossel continues to expose unfair public matters on 20/20. He, Joan, Congressman Istook and the ADA are our heroes for having the courage to bring the injustices in Congressional and NIH research funding to the public’s attention.

The Director at the National Institutes of Health who oversees all HIV/AIDS funding has publicly spoken of their "breathtaking success with HIV patients living normal lives." That success is evident by viewing the percent decline in deaths in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Be an Advocate for change; it's simple and quick: send our prepared letter to President Bush and your Congresspersons and ask for their support in obtaining fair and equitable distribution of bio-medical research funds by our government. You may also wish to send a similarly prepared letter in support of new organ-donor policies to reverse America's organ-donor crisis 105,000+ patients waiting and one dies every hour while waiting).

Donate: We need your help! Please support our efforts as we seek fair distribution of research funds by making a general donation, an "in memory of" donation, an "in honor of" donation or leave a legacy with estate planning by using our Donation Page. We are very appreciative of your contributions, which are tax deductible, and remember that your company may have a "matching gifts" program. Be sure to alert them to your donation to FAIR to insure they contribute on your behalf also.

All information is posted without profit or payment for research and is for educational purposes only, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. FAIR Foundation is a federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Contact Information

The FAIR Foundation

78629 Bougainvillea Drive

Palm Desert, CA 92211

Ph: 760-200-2766
Email FAIR@dc.rr.com

FAIR is fair.