Officials from Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare will meet Monday with the parents of a toddler who was denied a kidney transplant from his father after he violated his parole, according to CNN.
Emory Healthcare was set to remove Anthony Dickerson's kidney Oct. 3, but Mr. Dickerson was arrested for a parole violation Sept. 28. After his arrest, the hospital told the family that Mr. Dickerson had to comply with his parole for 90-days before they could perform the transplant — effectively postponing the operation until January. The hospital's decision to suspend the surgery garnered public outrage and even sparked protest.
After initially meeting with the family Nov. 2, Emory Healthcare apologized for the breakdown in communication and promised a follow-up meeting Nov. 6 to further review the matter.
"The entire Emory community is motivated and engaged to help [the toddler] secure a healthy future," Jonathan Lewin, MD, CEO of Emory Healthcare, told CNN. "We greatly respect the father's desire to become a donor, and we want to work with him to try and make this happen."
An attorney representing the family, Mawuli Davis, claims the hospital didn't effectively communicate with the family for nearly a month, though Emory appeared to be open to discussion this week following protests that demanded a meeting, according to the report. Mr. Davis called the meeting the "first positive step forward" but warns that there is still a long road ahead for the family.
"I just want to thank the community," said Carmellia Burgess, the toddler's mother, according to CNN. "If it wasn't for y'all, we wouldn't be closer to the transplant, so thank you."
The two-year-old, AJ Burgess, is currently fighting peritonitis, an abdominal inflammation caused by bacterial or fungal infection.