Life insurance for donors

[Scott337]

Hi all, my name is Scott (Minnesota) and I donated a kidney in 2010.  I've been away from this support group for a couple years but am happily back.   I'm in search of life insurance and have applied for one policy in 2013 but after my physical, I was accepted but they raised the rates for the insurance exorbantly once I had my physical and my creatine level was found to continue to be on the high-side of normal limits.  The insurance underwriters contacted my family physician where my medical history is kept.  They spoke with my doctor and brought up the creatine level, to which my dr replied that this level could mean trouble for my health over a period of time. 

My physician didn't supply any type of context regarding this being my "new normal" or point out that this level hadn't significantly changed over a couple of years..

At any rate, I'd heard that some insurance carriers were more "donor friendly" than others and I'm wondering what suggestions you all could make.    Thanks all

Scott

[brenda]

My life insurance was canceled after my creatinine went above 2.0.  The concept of "new normal" is kind of doctor-speak for "we can't do anything about this, and we'll watch it," but really, high creatinine and low nephron mass is not a great idea for a body.

[Clark]

Dear Scott,

  Best wishes, both for your future health and your insurance quest! Please contact your transplant center to discuss your elevated creatinine level with an independent nephrologist, unless you're very confident in your primary care physician's competence and experience in this field. The transplant center social worker may be able to discuss next steps on your life insurance quest.

[Michael]

Scott,

I posted a note on the Facebook group asking for a "donor friendly" insurance company and one person recommended working through a life insurance agent. That person should be able to find several alternatives for you to consider.

Another consideration is to have your creatinine checked again. It is notoriously volatile, and some means of measuring creatinine are more accurate than others. Consequently, you can't rely on the results from a single point in time. What is informative is what has been happening to the level over time. As an example, my level is slightly above normal (to be expected with one kidney) but it's been flat for 20 years. If an insurance company were to give me substandard rates or deny me coverage on the creatinine level alone, I personally would push back to show my kidney is just fine and is showing zero signs of deterioration.

Hope this helps.