I don't regret it: A kidney donor's pre-existing condition

Marci McKim's story:

I gave my husband a kidney in 2000 in the vain hope of keeping him alive until a match could be found (long story short). He never got the second kidney and died in 2002. I lost my corporate job in 2007 and have been unable to afford health insurance since then.

I don't regret the extra months of life I gave my dear husband; it was my pleasure to do so. But when I see articles about the lifesaving procedure today, I wonder why anyone would do it. Medicare covers the recipient, but the donors are left to the tender mercies of the health insurance industry, which considers us pariahs because we have a re-existing condition. If a live donor loses health insurance, there's no recourse.

Read a very different kidney donor story. Thanks to Marci for her letter to the editor of the New York Times on March 13, reprinted here.