Q & A About the Children We Serve

When a child is referred to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, there are often questions about who is eligible and how we accept referrals. Below are frequently asked questions about the children we serve. For more information on referring a child, please click here and you will be redirected to our National website.

Q. I’ve heard that a child must be terminally ill in order to receive a wish. Is this true?
A. No. Our Purpose Statement clearly establishes that children need not be dying in order to be served by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It also reinforces the life-affirming aspect of our mission: to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Q. Is there a minimum age for children that you serve?
A. The Make-A-Wish Foundation serves children who have reached the age of 2 1/2 and are under the age of 18 at the time of referral.

Q. I noticed that your mission and Purpose statement now refer to life-threatening “medical conditions” instead of “illnesses.” Does that mean that a child with a trauma-related condition (i.e., severe burns, injuries from accidents) would also qualify for a wish?
A. Maybe, but this depends squarely on the outcome of the trauma-related condition. If a severe injury results in a medical condition that is progressive, degenerative, or malignant, and has placed the child’s life in jeopardy, then yes, a child would medically qualify. If a trauma case does not result in a life-threatening medical condition as described here, the child would not medically qualify. Please note: Medical qualification is determined by the child’s referring physician.

Q. What kinds of medical conditions typically qualify a child to receive a wish?
A. Most qualifying conditions fall under one of the following categories:
Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Hematology/Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology, Neurology, Pulmonology, Rheumatology, Transplants, Urology.
Please note: under each category of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Medical List, many conditions contain specific qualifying criteria.

Q. What if a child’s illness does not appear on your medical list?
A. The Foundation’s Medical List includes conditions for each category that are most common among the children we serve. However, medical conditions not included on the Foundation’s Medical List may also qualify a child for a wish based on the life-threatening condition i.e., a progressive, degenerative or malignant medical condition that has placed the child’s life in jeopardy. Check with the child’s referring physician for any necessary clarification on a life-threatening medical condition that does not appear on the list.

Q. What if a child does not have the capacity to articulate what his or her wish would be?
A. For any referred and eligible child who cannot communicate through any one of numberous means (i.e., verbal, writing, drawing, signing, or storyboarding), the Foundation uses additional tools and solicits the opinions of medical caregivers and family members to determine a developmentally appropriate wish for that child.

Q. Who pays for the expenses relating to the child’s wish?
A. All expenses of a wish are covered by the Foundation, giving the wish kid and family a respite from the stress of dealing with a life-threatening medical condition. Wish costss vary according to the type of wish, but the average cost of a wish is typically $7,100 for the Mid-South Chapter.