Top organ transplants in 2019 included kidney, liver and heart. Nearly 40,000.*
Medical advances make organ transplants more common and that’s good. What’s bad is that many are not financially prepared for the outcome.
Jesse Slome, director of the American Association of Critical Illness Insurance
Organ Transplants and Critical Illness Insurance
In 2019, some 40,000 major organ transplants took place in the United States. The top transplanted organs were:
- Kidney – 23,401
- Liver – 8,896
- Heart – 3,552
- Lung – 2,714
- Kidney / Pancreas – 872
- Pancreas – 143
- Intestine – 81
- Heart / Lung – 45
“Medical advancements make organ transplants more common. That’s good,” explains Jesse Slome. Slome is director of the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance (AACII). “What’s bad is that many are not financially prepared for the outcome.”
Because transplants require recovery time Slome notes the financial toll on many is great. “Critical illness insurance was actually conceived of by a South African heart surgeon,” Slome explains. “Decades ago Dr. Marius Barnard recognized that he could save lives. However, the people would subsequently go broke. As a result, he sought a solution which is today’s critical illness insurance product.”
Because organ transplants are increasingly being performed, Slome believes more Americans need to learn about this form of protection. “First of all, start learning in your 40s,” Slome advocates. “Above all, be modest in terms of what coverage you might need.” The Association director offers his recommend. Consider coverage equal to the cost of between 6 and 18 months of rent or mortgage payments.
Risk Is Real: What is Critical Illness Insurance
If you are 40 or older, the Association recommends learning more. For instance, AACII data shows that one American has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Consequently most will survive. Because of the likelihood of surviving any critical illness, adults should learn more. Read more about What is critical illness insurance? Maybe you’ll agree that this can be an affordable way to get a lump sum of cash . Cash you may need to pay for bills while you recover.
Also, recommended: get a sense of what insurance costs. Use the Association’s instant critical illness insurance cost calculator to see an instant estimate of costs.
Finally, consumers can read tips to better compare critical illness insurance coverage. Significant differences between policies exist. The helpful tips can save you money.
