The kidney transplant surgery that Washington former mayor Marion Barry underwent on Friday went as planned, without complications, according to doctors dealing with the case.

 

Dr. Clive Callender, chairman of the Howard University Hospital surgery department and founder of the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, who performed the surgery, said Barry is “awake, alert and talking” after the surgery. He also added that he should be able to leave the hospital in a week.

 

“He is doing well, and he is getting better every day,” Callender said.

 

The donor, a long time friend named Kim Dickens, is also hospitalized in good conditions.

 

On Saturday morning, Barry himself wanted to let people know that he was “A-OK” through his spokeswoman Natalie Williams. In fact he was well enough to read the morning newspapers, Williams added.

 

The former mayor and current District of Columbia Council member has been undergoing dialysis for the past 12 weeks. He has been battling diabetes and high blood pressure for 20 years. Last April, he found out that he would need the kidney transplant and he got another chance to live when his longtime friend announced her intention to help him.

 

“This is a wonderful act, now more than ever, because the waiting list for a kidney is about five years. I think that a second chance at life is a tremendous gift,” Callender said before the surgery.