Misty Cargill was only 30 when she died, waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant that never came along. Cargill had a full life--a factory job, a boyfriend, bowling buddies, and dozens of friends who mourned her loss at her funeral. But her hospital still decided that her mild intellectual disability made her unworthy of the kidney transplant that would have saved her life.
Cargill was turned down for a place on the kidney waiting list in 2006, when the Oklahoma University Medical Center determined her disability made her ineligible. Though a media uproar led to her listing at another transplant center, she did not get her transplant on time.
Despite evidence that intellectually disabled people benefit just as much or more from organ transplants as non-disabled people, existing prejudice still prevents patients like Misty from receiving life-saving treatment.
Tell the Oklahoma University Medical Center not to withhold organ transplants from the intellectually disabled!
We the undersigned do not agree that a mild intellectual disability should preclude eligibility for a life-saving organ transplant. If Misty Cargill had been put on a kidney waiting list right away, she might have survived beyond her thirtieth birthday. Her life was just as rich and meaningful as anyone else's, and she deserved a shot at a longer life. Recent research shows that people with disabilities are MORE likely to keep up with the post-surgery medications required for transplant recipients because of their support systems. Please don't discriminate against the intellectually disabled!
