Hospital delays toddler's kidney transplant after donor dad's parole violation
Emory University Hospital. Photo by Emory University, via Wikimedia Commons.
A Georgia hospital has pushed back kidney transplant surgery for a 2-year-old boy after a parole violation by his father, the donor.
Emory University Hospital had scheduled the surgery for Oct. 3, then delayed it until the boy’s father, Anthony Dickerson, could comply with parole for three months, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CBS News, News One and WXIA report.
The boy’s mother, Carmella Burgess, provided the Journal-Constitution a letter from the hospital that said Dickerson would be re-evaluated as a donor in January after it receives documentation of his success.
“They’re making this about dad,” Burgess told the Journal-Constitution. “It’s not about dad. It’s about our son.”
Dickerson had violated parole in September and was charged with possession of a gun.
Emory Hospital said it can’t share specific information because of patient confidentiality. It did say, however, that its transplant guidelines “are designed to maximize the chance of success for organ recipients and minimize risk for living donors.”
