(Huffington Post)
August 9, 2012
STRATFORD, NEW JERSEY– [Excerpt provided by Inclusion Daily Express] The 3-year-old girl who sparked a national debate over whether “mental retardation” should be grounds for denying a patient an organ transplant, will receive a new kidney.
Amelia Rivera was initially denied the transplant by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia because the same genetic disorder that caused her kidneys to fail also left her severely cognitively impaired, and unable to walk or talk. While she would die without a transplant, doctors originally said, a cascade of other health problems might well shorten her life even with one. The decision was made to not place her on the organ recipient list.
Her parents argued that this was tantamount to discrimination based on her mental capabilities. They never asked that Amelia receive an organ from a stranger but did not understand why she could not receive one from a relative, known as a designated donation. After they took their plea to the internet, and more than 50,000 signed a Change.org petition and joined #TeamAmelia on Twitter, the hospital agreed that family and friends could be tested to find a match.
On the website of WolfHirschorn.org — the support group for the syndrome that Amelia has — her mother, Chrissy, announced yesterday that she would be her daughter’s donor.
Entire article:
Amelia Rivera, Girl Who Sparked Debate Over Transplants And ‘Mental Retardation’, To Receive New Kidney From Mom
http://tinyurl.com/ide0809121a
Related:
With Transplant Approved by Hospital, Amelia Rivera’s Mom to Donate Kidney (Babble.com)
http://tinyurl.com/ide0809121b
Kidney Chronicles Part Three (Blog Post by Chrissy Rivera)
http://wolfhirschhorn.org/2012/08/amelia/kidney-chronicles-part-three/
Planet of the Blind 