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Georgia boy finally gets new kidney
After controversial delay, 2-year-old gets successful transplant
W georgiaboy
In this Nov. 3 photo, Carmellia Burgess, center, cries as Anthony Dickerson, left, looks on as they attend a news conference outside Emory University Hospital in Atlanta regarding their 2-year-old son A.J., who received a kidney transplant. - photo by Associated Press
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 about 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.
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