When a sick patient finds out that he's finally next in line for a much-needed organ donation, it's cause for celebration – but it can also be very expensive for people who don't live near a major hospital.

Such patients must remain within an hour's driving distance of the hospital where the transplant is to take place, which often means that they must pay to rent an apartment in a new city, not knowing how long they'll have to wait for their donation. For Flora Cameron, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, the cost of moving to Toronto to await a life-saving lung transplant added up to a whopping $12,000.

But now, Ontario organ transplant patients will get a much needed hand (or handout, rather) from the province's organ transplant agency, the Trillium Gift of Life Network, which has just created a $500,000 fund for the purpose of assisting patients awaiting organ donations with living expenses while away from home.

"There's a clear need for this," Trillium's president, Frank Markel, told The Toronto Star. There are currently over 1,600 people in Ontario waiting for donations, and families who've had to relocate for transplants will be eligible for funds to cover travel, lodging, meals, and lost wages, with a likely cap around $5,000 per patient.

"I can't pretend this is a perfect fix for the situation," said Health Minister George Smitherman, "but it's a good beginning."