MELVILLE, N.Y. — Michael Jackson is ailing from a rare lung condition and needs a transplant, according to the author of a new biography. Jackson’s spokesman denies the assertion.
Author Ian Halperin said Jackson, 50, suffers from Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a condition that can be fatal.
“He’s had it for years, but it’s gotten worse,” Halperin said in an interview with In Touch magazine. “He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it. He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. . . . It’s the bleeding that is the most problematic part. It could kill him.”
On Monday, Jackson’s spokesman, Tohme Tohme, issued a statement saying Jackson “is in fine health and finalizing negotiations . . . for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances.” Newsday
