A girl with intellectual disability who was reportedly denied a kidney transplant earlier this year because she’s “mentally retarded” will be receiving a new organ after all.
In a blog post this week, Chrissy Rivera said doctors have cleared her daughter, Amelia, for a transplant.
Rivera said that she will donate a kidney to her daughter once the girl’s kidney function drops to 10 percent from its current performance of 14 percent.
“Our family received word about a month ago that Amelia is officially approved for the kidney transplant. All of her specialists, and some we have only just met, have agreed that there is no medical reason for her not to have the transplant,” Rivera wrote.
The Riveras received national attention in January when Chrissy wrote a blog post indicating that a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia denied then-3-year-old Amelia a transplant citing concerns about her quality of life given that she’s “mentally retarded.”
Amelia has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a chromosomal disorder affecting about 1 in 50,000 people that’s marked by the presence of intellectual disability, developmental delay, seizures and distinct facial characteristics.
In response, more than 50,000 people signed an online petition prompting the hospital to reconsider Amelia’s case.
Thank Goodness!
I’m glad. As a disabled person myself, this discrimination would have gotten the farthest amount of coverage on my blog and webpage, the hospital wouldn’t have known what hit them. She’s still alive, and she deserves to live that life not tied to machines.
I am Perth, Western Australia. One of my ( disable ) patient had transplanted 10 years ago, Aussie has no trouble with that.
Yet they will give a lung to someone who was being self destructive by doing drugs, drinking or smoking.
I am glad Amelia is getting her kidney. though she has other complications if her parent was will to give her a kidney, it must mean that they are willing to do what ever it takes to give her every chance of survival.
I’m speechless. I’m trying to find the right words,and I just can’t. I have a brother who is multi-handicapped, and the Czech drs. in our town back in the day told my mother that children like my brother would not be “saved” in his country…..how the hell gives you the right to play GOD! Before I say something offensive, I’m just going to continue to shake my head and be thankful the hosp. changed their tune….. God Bless the family and Amelia….it’s in his hands now!
Wow. Swedish hospital in Seattle just denied my transplant because my son was shot to death six years ago and i might need counseling for it. when they couldnt find any psychiatric records on me they refused my transplant anyway for absolutely no reason and told me to start all over again. Just in case. I am going to file complaints with medicare the nw renal network and the health department and the civil rights commission on them. I filed a report with their etics committee at swedish last week. No response. I called to ask which employees are on my transplant team. They said they would have the medical director call me back and that never happened either.