An American man who needs thousands of dollars’ worth of dental treatment must wait for his third kidney transplant.
Alan Checca has had two transplants since 1986 and now needs a third, but he has been told he cannot have the operation until he has healthy teeth and gums.
His gum disease means that his body could reject a donor kidney, but his health insurance will not pay for the $10,000 [£6,548] dental work that is needed to sort out the problem.
Around 45 million people in the US have no dental coverage and would be in the same position if they needed emergency dentistry.
Mr Checca, who is one of over 14,000 people across the country currently waiting for a repeat kidney transplant, has taken anti-rejection drugs since his first operation 24 years ago and said they are the reason he has dental problems.
His wife and son are both willing to donate a kidney, but until he has the dental treatment surgeons at Allegheny General Hospital will not operate on him.
