DOC Denies Transplant Request

March 4, 2004

Brian Asberry, who was diagnosed with acute renal failure (the sudden loss of the kidney's ability to excrete wastes, concentrate urine, and filter the blood) three years ago, needs a new kidney, and his brother was willing to donate one of his. Getting that much-needed organ transplant proved a losing battle last week for the New Yorker and former Hartford resident.

Because his brother's serving 13 years in a Connecticut prison on a conspiracy to commit murder conviction, the ill Asberry has been working with Correction Commissioner Theresa Lantz since his diagnosis to ensure the transplant procedure would take place. But he claims the DOC's done "everything [possible] to keep [the] operation from happening."

He first reached out to the DOC in 2002, and Lantz promised to do what she could to facilitate his request. Until last week, the state had refused to provide him with some indication as to when the operation could be scheduled; he'd been told "to hang in there," and there had always been some implied assurance from the agency that yes, the operation would happen.

On Friday, Lantz crushed Asberry's hopes. "I am writing in response to your desire and request to allow your brother, inmate Edward Asberry ... to be a potential kidney donor for you," Lantz wrote. "After an extensive review of all factors to include serious safety, security and logistical concerns, I must decline your request. I understand your condition is not life-threatening and there are other alternative means to accommodate your medical issue. I regret my response cannot be more favorable."

Kidney transplants are treacherous procedures. As such, few hospitals in the area perform them, says Asberry. Mt. Sinai in Manhattan does, but that hospital isn't connected to a prison. Therefore, the DOC had been working with New York corrections officials and the FBI to locate an available holding cell that could house Asberry's brother throughout his post-op recovery.

"For more than a year, the [DOC] has been working diligently to ensure this medical procedure can be carried out in a safe and secure manner," reads an official DOC statement Scoop received two weeks ago. "The preparation for this procedure has proven to be an extremely complicated process that involves collaboration with other law enforcement agencies as well as medical personnel outside of the agency. The [DOC] continues its efforts toward ensuring that all appropriate medical procedures will occur."

But a lot can change in two weeks. The DOC released an updated statement this week concerning the denial of Asberry's request: "The safety, security, and logistical issues associated with a procedure such as this is, being carried out in [Manhattan], could not be overcome. If the procedure can be performed in Connecticut, the [DOC] would be willing to reconsider the request."

Without a new kidney, Asberry's got maybe 10 years of dialysis to look forward to. At that point, he could perish, he says.

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This article posted April 9, 2004.