Military waiver for Kidney "Donation"?

Question

I'm a former Marine wanting to re-enlist in the Army Reserve or Guard. The initial phone interview with the Army said there was a waiver for Kidney Donation. Now the recruiter said no, only for active military. Has anyone heard of the waiver, shared this experience? I know that there are active military with one kidney. Just wanting to know any information on this. Thanks.

Answer 1

Even though you are re-enlisting, the standards for initial enlistment apply. Absence of one kidney, acquired or congenital, is disqualifying for enlistment or appointment. It is not considered disqualifying for retention if the other kidney is free of pathology and infection.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The rules for being accepted for enlistment are different from the rules that apply after someone is enlisted. http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/medicalwaiver.htm is a good explanation of the medical waiver process. Reading it, I would suggest you push the recruiter to at least let you fill out the initial form that is sent to MEPS for medical review. Note how the article says "The form is reviewed by a doctor at MEPS. If there are any potentially disqualifying medical conditions listed on the form, MEPS may contact the recruiter to ensure you bring a copy of your civilian medical records (concerning the condition) with you to the examination. Sometimes the doctor doing the review will determine you have a medical condition which is obviously disqualifying with little or no chance of a waiver. In such cases, MEPS may disqualify you on the spot, and refuse to do the medical examination at all. If this happens, you're pretty much dead in the water. There is no appeal to this." But you should at least get a shot at the doctor review.

Answer 4

Rules for current enlisted and new enlistees are very, very different , especially when it comes to medical waivers. I would be very surprised if they would let you join with only one kidney as this dramtically increases your risk from injury or illness. It would also mean you would need to be kept in a posting that could support your medical needs if a problem arose...making deployment and many overseas stations impossible. I would certainly encourage you to talk to another recruiter and your family physician as well (he may have come across this issue before or be able to weigh in on the risks you could face) and go from there.