CHICAGO — Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson expects to undergo a kidney transplant in the "very near future" — with his 25-year-old son, Daniel, expected to be the donor, a police spokesman said Tuesday.
Johnson has said he is eager to have the surgery and get back to work.
Doctors are in the "final evaluation stage" but have not yet scheduled a date for the surgery, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
Johnson told CBS2 Tuesday morning that he had lost 46 pounds in preparation for the transplant, and his son also lost weight to prepare for the surgery. Daniel Johnson has another 3 pounds to go, officials said.
Johnson joined Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White at a health fair at the Thompson Center to raise awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation.
Johnson revealed his condition after almost collapsing at a news conference earlier this year.
Johnson told reporters in January that he was diagnosed with a kidney disease 32 years ago when he applied to be a Chicago police officer and was required to take a blood test. He said he has managed it since then without medicine.
Johnson is among the more than 123,000 Americans on the organ transplant list. However, only 7,000 people receive a transplant each year; 12 people die every day waiting for a kidney. Half of the 4,700 people waiting a transplant in Illinois are minorities, according to White's office.
