I can't believe that we are in the year 2012, and I'm reading a blog post by a very distraught parent about her child being denied a transplant because she is mentally retarded! If you have not seen the post, you can find it here.
Amelia has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, which is a condition that can cause cognitive impairments. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is refusing to grant her a kidney transplant because she is labeled "mentally retarded" and has brain damage. I'm still not able to wrap my head around this criteria! I can certainly understand that there is criteria one has to meet in order to receive a transplant, but how in the world is "mental retardation" a basis for this decision? Per the blog post, Amelia's mom stated that the doctor said, "She is not eligible because of her quality of life...because of her mental delays." If this is the main reason for the decision, something MUST be done! Who determines "quality of life" anyway? This is just another prime example that people with disabilities and/or perceived cognitive impairments are not seen as valuable and contributing members of society. And again, we are in the year 2012!
A petition has been started at change.org. Please sign it. CHOP has to hear from us and realize that using "mental retardation" as a criteria for a transplant MUST change! This little girl, as well as every HUMAN BEING, deserves the chance to live. It is not up to CHOP to determine whether she has quality of life or not. Without this transplant she most certainly won't have quality of life because she won't be here to experience it.
In fairness, I would like to note that CHOP has made a statement in regards to this situation on their Facebook Page. While I am glad they have acknowledged the situation, they have a long way to go to make this better.
Please, please pass this information along and share with others.
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