Soldier Cleared To Donate Kidney To His Mother

The Associated Press

Published: Jun 8, 2007

CONCORD, N.H. - A soldier from New Hampshire was granted leave from the Army on Thursday to pack up and head to Florida to donate his kidney to his mother.

Army Spc. Frank Chapman, 27, is a match to his mother, Patricia Chapman, who suffers from kidney disease and is on dialysis three days a week. They are scheduled for transplant surgery Wednesday in Florida. Patricia Chapman, 54, lives in Dunnellon.

"There's a lot of stress lifted off my chest at this moment in time because, for a minute there, I thought I was going to have to go AWOL," said Chapman, who had planned to be in Florida for the surgery regardless of the Army's decision. He was informed of it during a teleconference with the Army Surgeon General and U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes' office.

The family learned last month that Army medical officers had denied permission for the transplant surgery, which they said could lead to medical problems down the road for Chapman.

Chapman said the denial was over a high blood pressure reading at a hospital. He disputed that, noting he has been cleared for surgery by doctors at Reynolds Army Community Hospital at Fort Sill and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where the surgery is scheduled.

After the Chapmans disputed the decision, the Army surgeon general's office agreed to reconsider its opinion following a 24-hour period of blood pressure monitoring. A monitor was shipped to Chapman, who is based in Fort Sill, Okla.

"It took my blood pressure every 15 minutes," Chapman said. "They thought that my blood pressure was high, a little bit high, and they still are telling me I've got an extremely good chance of having high blood pressure in the future. But who, when they get older, doesn't have a chance of getting high blood pressure in the future?"

Chapman said he spoke with his mother on the phone briefly Thursday. "She feels much better about the whole process," he said.

Hodes said the Army is expediting Chapman's request for "compassionate reassignment" so he can care for his mother.

"This is the outcome we all hoped for," added U.S. Sen. John Sununu, who wrote a letter on Chapman's behalf to the Army's congressional liaison.

The Chapmans lived in Hanover before moving to Oklahoma in July.