Michael ‘Mikaael' Jackson has denied he is on the verge of death, countering an unauthorized biographer who claims the aging, cash-strapped singer is half blind, barely able to speak from a debilitating genetic condition, needs a lung transplant, and has serious intestinal bleeding. “Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances,” Jackson spokesman Dr Tohme Tohme said. The biographer, Ian Halperin, told the Sun newspaper of Britain that Jackson “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.” Halperin claimed the 50-year-old was suffering with an inherited condition called A1AD - alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency. Sufferers lack a protein which protects the lungs. Jackson was photographed being pushed in a wheelchair in July this year. He has been plagued by financial woes since he was acquitted of child-molestation charges in 2003. Treasures from his Neverland ranch are soon to go on auction. His glittery glove, which appeared in the video Billie Jean will go under the hammer next year, along with more than 2,000 other personal items. Jackson's possessions will be on display before the auction begins on April 21. Bids will be accepted in person and online. The sale is to be broadcast live on Auction Network. Jackson, who reverted to Islam recently and changed his name to “Mikaael', plans to donate part of the proceeds to MusiCares, a Recording Academy charitable organization helping musicians in need. He now lives in a rented home in one of the most exclusive areas of LA for $100,000 a month, The Sun said. The $38 million Holmby Hills property has seven bedrooms, 13 baths, 12 fireplaces, a screening room, guest house, swimming pool and garden, the Sun said. Last month, Jackson's lawyers reached a settlement in a $7million breach-of-contract case brought by Bahrain's Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa. The star, who was cleared of child abuse three years ago, is now facing legal action from a woman calling herself Billie Jean Jackson. She claims she is his wife and the mother of his youngest child Prince Michael II. She is suing him for £700,000 and demanding joint custody of the child, the paper said. __
