Merribeth Pentasuglia is raising money for uninsured medical expenses associated with her kidney transplant. Even with insurance a transplant is financially draining. She has many out of pocket expenses that are not covered by insurance. Some of these expenses are co-pays, deductibles, lab fees, travel back and forth to the transplant center, relocation at the time of transplant and a life-time of anti-rejection medications.

Merribeth lives in Philadelphia, PA with her two dogs, Cleo and Lola. To stay alive, Merribeth is on home hemodialysis performing 6-8 hour treatments, five days a week. She is able to work and being a somewhat functioning member of society however between dialysis and work there really isn’t time for much else. She is currently being evaluated by the transplant specialists at at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Due to a previous kidney transplant that never failed to start up and was removed one day after transplantation, she is considered high risk. The previous transplant has caused her body to create a high level of antibodies that make it much more difficult to match a kidney for a third life-saving transplant.