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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Insurance woes for organ donor
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN Ms Sheralyn Tay needed a kidney three years ago, her younger brother, Alphonsus, didn't hesitate to give his to her.
But the good deed turned out to haunt him 11/2 years later, when the IT support engineer wanted to apply for health insurance coverage through MediShield.
First he had to prove to the CPF Board, which administers MediShield, that he was a kidney donor.
Said Ms Tay, 27, a freelance writer: 'Even after getting and paying for his medical records and having the surgeon write a letter, the insurer still insisted that he go for medical tests for his 'organ-donor condition'.'
The whole process was tedious and inconvenient for her brother, now 24, she said.
'But Alphonsus was quite understanding and took it in his stride,' she said. 'What I worry about is the other donors. What if such practices put people off from donating organs - even to loved ones?'
After a few more trips and telephone calls, the insurer 'relented and Alphonsus got his MediShield'.
Ms Tay suggested that insurers should have protocols and processes in place to help organ donors who want to become policyholders, rather than 'make them run around for records and additional medical tests'.
'This way, no one loses out when applying for health insurance,' she said.
JUDITH TAN
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN Ms Sheralyn Tay needed a kidney three years ago, her younger brother, Alphonsus, didn't hesitate to give his to her.
But the good deed turned out to haunt him 11/2 years later, when the IT support engineer wanted to apply for health insurance coverage through MediShield.
First he had to prove to the CPF Board, which administers MediShield, that he was a kidney donor.
Said Ms Tay, 27, a freelance writer: 'Even after getting and paying for his medical records and having the surgeon write a letter, the insurer still insisted that he go for medical tests for his 'organ-donor condition'.'
The whole process was tedious and inconvenient for her brother, now 24, she said.
'But Alphonsus was quite understanding and took it in his stride,' she said. 'What I worry about is the other donors. What if such practices put people off from donating organs - even to loved ones?'
After a few more trips and telephone calls, the insurer 'relented and Alphonsus got his MediShield'.
Ms Tay suggested that insurers should have protocols and processes in place to help organ donors who want to become policyholders, rather than 'make them run around for records and additional medical tests'.
'This way, no one loses out when applying for health insurance,' she said.
JUDITH TAN
