Marion Barry receives new kidney

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is recovering from a successful kidney transplant, say doctors at Howard University Hospital.

Barry, 72, now a member of the District of Columbia City Council, Friday night received the kidney of an unidentified 47-year-old female donor, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Tests to assess how the kidney was functioning were to be performed Saturday, said Clive O. Callender, director of the hospital's transplant center.

Barry, who had been on dialysis for nearly three months, has been praised as a champion of the poor and scorned for past drug use and continuing tax problems.

Barry, who was sentenced for tax troubles three years ago, revealed his illness last week after prosecutors sought to send him to jail for not filing his 2007 taxes on time. Barry, who also was convicted on cocaine charges, blamed his kidney failure on a 20-year history of diabetes and hypertension, the Post reported.