No Truth to Michael Jackson Lung-Transplant Story

Tuesday December 23, 2008 07:30 AM EST

Michael Jackson

Danny Moloshok/AP

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Claims that Michael Jackson needs a lung transplant because of a rare respiratory disease are a "total fabrication," according to a statement from Jackson's official spokesperson, Dr. Tohme Tohme, released by the Los Angeles firm, Scoop Marketing, Reuters reports.

Word of Jackson's supposed condition – that he was suffering from Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency – had circulated after writer Ian Halperin, at work on an upcoming biography of the 50-year-old music legend, was interviewed in Britain's Sunday Express newspaper.
– Stephen M. Silverman

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