[acb-hsp] [leadership] Fw: CA Collaborative Transplant May Be In Sight ForGirl With Intellectual Disability

[peter altschul]

Transplant May Be In Sight For Girl With Intellectual Disability

By Michelle Diament | January 31, 2012

Weeks after claiming their 3-year-old was rejected for a kidney 
transplant because she has an intellectual disability, a New 
Jersey couple said the transplant may go through after all.

Chrissy and Joseph Rivera said in an interview with The 
Philadelphia Inquirer this week that doctors at the Children's 
Hospital of Philadelphia are now considering a transplant for 
their daughter, Amelia.

Earlier this month, Chrissy Rivera wrote in a blog post that a 
doctor at the Philadelphia hospital told the family that a 
transplant would not be possible because the girl is "mentally 
retarded." Amelia was born with a rare chromosomal disorder 
called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome that's marked by the presence of 
intellectual disability, developmental delay, seizures and 
distinct facial characteristics.

Rivera's post went viral and more than 37,000 people have signed 
an online petition asking the hospital to rethink the decision.

On Friday, the Riveras met with hospital officials.  While they 
don't know yet if Amelia will be deemed medically eligible for a 
transplant, the couple indicated they were given instructions on 
how family members could be tested to find a donor match.

"As of now, we're taking this as a positive sign," Chrissy Rivera 
told the Inquirer.


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Carol J.  Risley, Executive Director

State Council on Developmental Disabilities

1507 21st Street, Suite 210

Sacramento, CA 95811

(916) 322-8481

(916) 443-4957 (fax)

carol.risley at scdd.ca.gov

www.scdd.ca.gov





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