December 22, 2008 11:35

Michael Jackson 'needs a lung transplant'

Biographer claims the singer is suffering from various ailments

Photo Gallery: Michael Jackson
Photo: Pa Photos

Michael Jackson is supposedly in need of a lung transplant because he is suffering from alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency, emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, his biographer has claimed.

Biographer Ian Halperin claimed that the singer, recently pictured using a wheelchair, has gone half-blind as a result of his ailments, and that they could see his demise.

Halperin told The Sun, "He needs a lung transplant, but may be too weak to go through with it. He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, which his doctors have had a lot of trouble stopping.

"It's the bleeding that's the most problematic part. It could kill him. He can barely speak. The vision in his left eye is 95 per cent gone."

Jackson's brother Jermaine is quoted as saying, "He's not doing so well right now. This isn't a good time."