Mr. Waddington has polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, a genetic disorder that leads to kidney failure. First he lost one kidney, and then the other. A year ago, he was on dialysis and desperately needed a new kidney. Doctors explained that the best match — the one least likely to be rejected — would perhaps come from Travis or Michael, his two sons, then ages 29 and 27.

Travis and Michael each had a 50 percent chance of inheriting PKD. And if pre-donation testing revealed that one of them had the disorder, that brother might never be able to get health insurance. As a result, their doctors had advised not getting tested. After all, new research suggests that lack of insurance increases a working-age person’s risk of dying in any given year by 40 percent.

“At the time David needed a transplant, the people closest to him couldn’t even offer a lifesaving donation — for insurance reasons,” said Mr. Waddington’s wife, Susan.

It seems to me it's even worse. It's not just that they couldn't offer him a donation — which they probably couldn't; I'd be shocked if having donated a kidney doesn't count as a pre-existing condition — they couldn't even get tested to see if it was possible for them to offer.

How horrible must that be? "Yes, I know there's a strong chance I could help save my father by donating a kidney... but even trying to find out if that's the case might well ruin my own life due to the desire of insurance companies to keep a high profit margin."

Isn't the current American healthcare system the bestest in the wurld!

If you consider #37 in the world to be "Best", as most of the Right-Wing Talking Heads seem to think, perhaps.

Sarcasm, I haz it!