Make-A-Wish is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses. The most common wishes granted are to meet a celebrity, visit theme parks, or travel. Make-A-Wish serves children between 2 1⁄2 and 18 years of age. However, there are cases where older individuals question if they can qualify for a wish after turning 18. There are a few factors to consider regarding age limits for Make-A-Wish.
What are Make-A-Wish’s official age requirements?
According to Make-A-Wish America’s official eligibility guidelines, wish kids must be between 2 1⁄2 and 18 years old to qualify for a wish. The child must be diagnosed with a critical illness before their 19th birthday. Once a child turns 18, they have aged out and no longer qualify for a wish.
Some exceptions are made for children who are nearing 18 but have a chronic illness without a life-threatening diagnosis. For example, a 17-year-old child with cystic fibrosis may qualify even though it’s not an imminently terminal diagnosis. Overall, the age of 18 is strictly enforced for most wish requests.
Why does Make-A-Wish have an age limit?
There are a few reasons why Make-A-Wish set an age restriction:
- Make-A-Wish aims to serve children facing life-threatening conditions. Childhood illness takes away carefree years of being a kid. So granting a special wish can give hope and joy during a difficult time. The focus is on kids who haven’t had the chance to experience common childhood dreams yet.
- Most of Make-A-Wish’s donors and supporters want their donations to serve children specifically. The organization aligns its mission with the donors’ intent.
- Drawing a clear line at age 18 avoids the complications of evaluating wish requests from different adults based on severity of illness. The age cut-off creates an objective standard for who qualifies rather than subjective judgements.
The age limit reinforces Make-A-Wish’s mission to bring hope, strength, and joy to children during a difficult time before reaching adulthood.
Can exceptions be made past age 18?
In rare cases, exceptions may be made if a child’s illness prevented them from utilizing their wish before turning 18. For example, if a child has been hospitalized for years and only recently became stable enough for a wish trip. But generally, once a child turns 18 they no longer qualify.
Some tips if trying to seek an exception:
- Apply for a wish as early as possible, at least 6 months before turning 18.
- Get a doctor’s note explaining the medical limitations that prevented utilizing a wish sooner.
- Work with the local Make-A-Wish chapter’s personnel who can advocate to national HQ.
- Be flexible – experiences and travel wishes may not be approved over 18, but other wishes may be considered.
But again, exceptions past age 18 are very rare. Make-A-Wish needs to uphold its policies for fairness to all applicants.
What options are there besides Make-A-Wish after 18?
Once someone ages out of Make-A-Wish, there are a few other organizations that can potentially help grant wishes depending on the circumstances:
- Granted – Granted is a non-profit that grants wishes for adults ages 18-30 fighting cancer. Wishes range from travel, entertainment, meeting someone famous, or other meaningful experiences.
- Dream Foundation – The Dream Foundation fulfills wishes for terminally ill adults of any age as long as their life expectancy is one year or less. They grant dreams related to travel, meeting someone influential, attend an event, reunite with friends/family, and more based on the individual’s bucket list.
- Starlight Children’s Foundation – Although Starlight serves a similar mission to Make-A-Wish for children, they occasionally grant wishes for 18 to 30 year olds who aged out of Make-A-Wish if the person’s illness began in childhood.
These organizations have different criteria, so eligibility largely depends on the person’s specific diagnosis and age. They provide potential options for wish fulfillment even if aged out of Make-A-Wish.
Can Make-A-Wish provide other help or connections after 18?
Even if someone no longer qualifies for a wish from Make-A-Wish after turning 18, the organization may still be able to provide resources and connections to other groups.
Some ways Make-A-Wish may be able to help:
- Connect patients to the other wish granting organizations discussed above
- Provide information about camps, support groups, or non-profits specific to the patient’s illness
- Direct patients to crisis support hotlines or counseling resources
- Send educational materials, books, toys from the Make-A-Wish collection to lift spirits
- Help the patient stay engaged with Make-A-Wish as a potential future volunteer
It depends on the local chapter, but Make-A-Wish often tries to provide guidance and connections to wish alumni even if they no longer qualify based on age. Patients and families can check if additional support services are available.
Can siblings or family members get a wish after 18?
Make-A-Wish only grants wishes to the children diagnosed with a critical illness, not their family members. However, foundations like Dream Foundation discussed above may consider granting wishes to immediate family members like parents or siblings, especially if they are directly involved as a caregiver.
Siblings may qualify for these types of programs:
- Rainbow Society – Grants wishes to siblings of children with chronic or terminal illnesses
- Sibs – Provides support resources for siblings of chronically ill children
- March of Dimes Sibling Support Network – Supports siblings of babies affected by premature birth or birth defects
Options are limited, but some organizations recognize the challenges faced by siblings and provide wish fulfillment or supportive communities specifically for them.
Can Make-A-Wish eligibility be extended for developmental delays?
For children with developmental disabilities or delays, Make-A-Wish may allow exceptions past age 18. According to their eligibility guidelines:
“A child with a progressive disease who is over the age of 18 must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the referring physician and Make-A-Wish that the wish will provide hope and joy at a stage of the disease that is recognizably terminal.”
So for examples like a 20-year-old with a developmental age of 12, or a 22-year-old who functions cognitively more like a young teenager, exceptions may be possible. The patient’s doctor must confirm that the developmental delays inhibit normal childhood experiences that a wish could provide.
It is evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the referring physician and local Make-A-Wish chapter. But Wish-A-Wish does account for developmental challenges that prevent children from getting full childhood experiences before adulthood.
Should Make-A-Wish increase the age limit?
There are reasonable arguments on both sides of whether Make-A-Wish should expand its age range beyond 18 years old.
Reasons Make-A-Wish should maintain its current age range:
- Keeping the program limited to kids allows more wishes to be granted with available funds.
- It upholds Make-A-Wish’s mission of serving children specifically.
- Drawing a clear line avoids complicated judgments about who “deserves” an exception.
- 18 years old is the legal transition to adulthood when children gain more independence and responsibility.
Reasons to expand the age range beyond 18:
- It allows exceptions for those who aged out due to medical limitations.
- 18 is somewhat arbitrary if a person is still personally and emotionally in their youth.
- It accounts for developmental delays in cognitive/emotional maturity.
- More potential wishes could be fulfilled with expanded criteria.
There are fair perspectives on both sides of this debate. Ultimately, Make-A-Wish must decide if expanding their mission is feasible with their budget and resources. There are also alternative wish fulfillment programs that can serve those aged out of Make-A-Wish.
Conclusion
Make-A-Wish provides an invaluable source of hope and joy to children facing critical illness during youth. Their age cutoff aims to serve children who need it most. But the strict 18 year old age limit also faces understandable questions, especially from families of those who narrowly miss qualifying. While exceptions are rarely made for adults, there are a few other wish granting foundations that can be considered after aging out of Make-A-Wish. Even if wishes cannot be granted, Make-A-Wish also strives to provide resources and connections to aid wish alumni however possible, even into adulthood.