Soldier Cleared To Donate Kidney To His Mother

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A soldier from New Hampshire who is stationed at Fort Sill Army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, receives leave from the Army to donate his kidney to his mother.<br/><br/>Army Specialist

Thursday, June 7th 2007, 10:10 pm

By: News On 6

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A soldier from New Hampshire who is stationed at Fort Sill Army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, receives leave from the Army to donate his kidney to his mother.

Army Specialist Frank Chapman is a match to his mother, who suffers from kidney disease and is on dialysis three days a week. The mother and son are scheduled for transplant surgery June 13th in Dunnellon, Florida, where Patricia Chapman lives.

Chapman says the decision lifted a weight off his chest because he contemplated going absent without leave so that he could undergo the procedure to help his mother.

He was informed during a teleconference with the Army Surgeon General and Congressman 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 pointed out that he had been cleared for surgery by doctors at Reynolds Army Community Hospital at Fort Sill.