Chicago's Top Cop To Get New Kidney From Son Next Week

CHICAGO, IL — In a letter to Chicago Police Department officers, the city's top cop he will receive a new kidney from his son next week, according to ABC 7 Chicago. Supt. Eddie Johnson will have a kidney transplant operation Wednesday after his 25-year-old son, Daniel, passed the donor screening process, the report stated. First Deputy Supt. Kevin Navarro will be acting supertindent while Johnson is on medical leave.

Johnson suffers from the kidney disorder glomerulonephritis, which he has battled for the past 32 years. He was placed on the transplant list for a new kidney a couple years after being diagnosed. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was aware of Johnson's condition when he chose him for superintendent after firing Garry McCarthy in 2015. Johnson's health issues became public in January when he became ill during a press conference, although that was unrelated to his kidney disorder.

Although glomerulonephritis affects his kidneys, Johnson doesn't suffer from diabetes, and he has not needed dialysis. After the January's fainting spell, he said he expected transplant surgery to keep him off work for about three to five weeks. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

RELATED: Chicago's Top Cop Could Get New Kidney From Son: Report

In May, Johnson said the transplant surgery would be done at Rush University Medical Center, and even at that time, his son had been a leading candidate to donate a kidney. Interestingly, the superintendent's son also started following in his father's footsteps by submitting his application to become a Chicago police officer, ABC 7 reports.

More via ABC 7 Chicago

Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson (Photo via Patch archive)

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