Toddler Denied Kidney Transplant Because Of Father’s Probation Violation
A recent arrest is preventing an Atlanta father from donating a kidney to his ailing son.
A two-year-old boy born without kidneys is fighting for his life—and he finally found a 100 percent match in his father. But Anthony Dickerson Sr.can’t donate his organ to his son A.J. because he recently violated his probation.
According to WTSP, Dickerson was arrested in Georgia for violating his probation last month and charged with possession of a firearm.
At first, he claims Emory Hospital officials in Atlanta weren’t too concerned about his recent arrest sending a letter to the Gwinnett County Jail supporting his involvement in the upcoming procedure.
“Mr. Dickerson is currently in custody for a parole violation. If Mr. Dickerson could be escorted to Emory for blood work and a pre-operative appointment tomorrow, September 29, we will be able to continue with the scheduled surgery.”
However, this supportive sentiment changed when Dickerson was released from jail.
According to Dickerson, he later received a letter that said the life-saving surgery is to be put on hold until next year.
It read: “The Living Donor Transplant Team at Emory as asked Mr. Dickerson for evidence of compliance from his parole officer for the next three months. We will re-evaluate Mr. Dickerson in January 2018 after receipt of his completed documentation.”
Dickerson and his family do not understand how a parole violation should be connected to their son’s surgery, especially since Dickerson is healthy and ready to go forward with the transplant.
“It’s about my son,” A.J.’s mother, Carmella Burgess, told the news outlet.
“He’s been through a lot. It’s like we’ve been waiting on this. And Dad making a mistake shouldn’t affect what he wants to do with our son.”
When WTSP reached out to Emory to get clarification as to why the surgery was postponed, hospital officials said they couldn’t get into specifics because it violated patient confidentiality.
But they did say the following:”Guidelines for organ transplantation are designed to maximize the chance of success for organ recipients and minimize the risk for living donors.”
Dickerson is devastated that his arrest is impacting his son’s chance at living a normal life.
“What do he got to do with the mistakes I made? Nothing,” Anthony said.
“He’s only two,” Carmellia said. “He don’t deserve this. We’ve been waiting so long for this.”
Sadly as WTSP noted, A.J. suffered a stroke two months ago, and needs constant care. Waiting to find a new donor oand postponing the transplant isn’t helping his health.
Disgusted by the hospital’s actions, folks on Twitter have created the hashtag #SaveAJDickerson urging Emory to rethink their actions:
