Out of love for her then ailing husband, sales development manager Sheryl Fong gave him one of her kidneys four years ago.

Church pastor Kenneth Fong has since recovered.

The operation and hospitalisation fees for her alone cost more than $20,000. Because her insurance policy does not cover 'elective surgery', that had to be paid in cash.

Mrs Fong, 38, quit her sales manager job which paid her a comfortable salary of $7,000 a month so that she could take time to recuperate after the operation.

She remained jobless for four months before she found a new job as a sales development manager.

For six months after her operation, she had to go for monthly health check-ups at the hospital. Each check-up cost her more than $100, which she had to foot.

Today, she still has to go for annual blood and urine tests to ensure her single kidney is functioning well. The tests set her back by about $100 each time.

Despite the immense physical and financial sacrifices that she had made, Mrs Fong said that she has been more than compensated.

Mr Fong, 43, received a new lease of life and she got her life back, too. When he was ill, she used to have to nurse him day and night.

She finds it hard to imagine someone going through the same ordeal for a stranger.

'It will certainly help if the altruistic donor is reimbursed for surgery costs,' she said.

'It is not fair to the donor if after donating an organ, he still has to settle a huge debt for the surgery fees.'

She added: 'But the compensation should not be seen as a payment. There should be no price tag on the gift of life. It is priceless.'

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Nov 9, 2008.