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My son, Paul, will die without a heart transplant. But the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania refuses to put him on the transplant list — because he’s autistic. Paul is only 23, and he’s amazing. He was diagnosed with a deadly heart condition four years ago, but he battles through it with a smile. He’s smart and creative — we just self-published a story he wrote, and he’s working on a sequel. He loves his nephews. And the whole family loves him. I don’t know how to tell my son that his doctors refuse to give him the operation that could save his life. I promised Paul that I would fight for him with every breath, no matter what it takes. But I’m afraid my voice alone isn’t enough. I started a petition on Change.org asking the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to put my son on the transplant list — will you sign? Paul’s doctor says one of the reasons he doesn’t qualify for a transplant is that he can’t name all the medications he’s on. This is ridiculous, because Paul takes 19 medications. My son has faced discrimination because of his autism all his life, but this time, that discrimination could kill him. I was devastated when I found out the hospital wouldn’t help Paul — it was the worst moment any mother could imagine. But then I read about another mom who got her mentally disabled daughter on the list for a life-saving kidney transplant after more than 50,000 people signed her petition on Change.org. That’s what inspired me to start my petition for Paul. I know that if enough people sign my petition, the hospital will give my son a chance to survive. Thank you, Karen Corby |
Tag Archives: Kidney transplantation
Immigrant denied kidney transplant … Jackie Mahendra, Change.org
| Jesus Navarro’s wife wants to donate her kidney to him, but the hospital won’t let her — Jesus could die. |
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Jesus Navarro could die without a kidney transplant. His wife is a match, she wants to donate her kidney to save her husband’s life, and Jesus even has health insurance to cover the transplant.
But because Jesus is undocumented, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center is refusing to perform surgery, essentially leaving Jesus to die.
Donald Kagan understands what Jesus is going through better than most. Donald immigrated from Nicaragua, and he needed (and received) a kidney transplant that saved his life. Donald is now a partner at a technology firm in Berkeley, CA — and he has offered to pay Jesus’s post-surgery medical bills. But UCSF Medical Center still says no.
Donald thinks it’s unconscionable that UCSF Medical Center would deny Jesus medical treatment even though Jesus already has a willing kidney donor, insurance to pay for his surgery, and a benefactor to pay for his follow-up care. So Donald started a petition on Change.org asking UCSF Medical Center administrators to allow Jesus to get the kidney transplant that could save his life. Click here to sign Donald’s petition right now.
When doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, one of the things they swear is that, “I will remember that I remain a member of society with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.” The administrators at UCSF Medical Center are forgoing their obligations as caregivers only because Jesus is undocumented.
After waiting for years for this surgery, Jesus was devastated to learn that it still might not happen. “He’s afraid he might die,” Jesus’s sister told NBC News. “He might not see his daughter grow up.”
The UCSF Medical Center administrators don’t want a public relations disaster on their hands — but that’s exactly what they’ll have if thousands of people sign Donald’s petition and they still refuse to provide Jesus with the surgery that could save his life.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
– Jackie and the Change.org team
Be a Seed for Change 