Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Atlanta teen denied new heart gets transplant after all - NBC News.com

Atlanta teen denied new heart gets transplant after all - NBC News.com: ATLANTA - A 15-year-old Atlanta boy received a new heart on Tuesday evening, just 10 days after his family complained he was unfairly rejected for a transplant because of past failure to take medicine and show up for doctors' appointments, local media reported.

Anthony Stokes, who has a weakened, enlarged heart that cannot pump blood efficiently, could have less than six months to live without a transplant, his family said last week. A few days later, the hospital reversed course and added him to its waiting list.

Stokes received a heart transplant Tuesday, a family spokesman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was in the intensive care unit of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Wednesday, the hospital said.