Ga. boy whose transplant was delayed gets new kidney

ATLANTA — A potentially life-saving kidney transplant has given a Georgia family a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, nearly two months after the operation was controversially delayed.

A.J. Burgess, who will be 3 in January, was born without kidneys. His parents got word at around 8 p.m. Tuesday that a kidney from a dead donor was available, and the toddler had a successful transplant Wednesday morning, said Mawuli Davis, a lawyer for A.J.’s parents.

The boy will have to stay in the hospital for about a week, including the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, but his parents are “excited about giving thanks for his new kidney,” Davis said in a phone interview.

The transplant comes after a setback last month when Emory University Hospital told the family it was delaying a transplant of a kidney from A.J.’s father, Anthony Dickerson, who was a perfect match.

Dickerson has repeatedly been in trouble with the law and was arrested again in September. That didn’t initially seem to be an obstacle. A letter to the Gwinnett County jail from Emory’s Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program requested his temporary release.

“If Mr. Dickerson could be escorted to Emory for blood work and a pre-operative appointment tomorrow, September 29, we will be able to continue with the scheduled surgery,” the Sept. 28 letter says.