Biographer: Michael Jackson 'needs a lung transplant'

News out of England today that's causing a stir: Michael Jackson's biographer, Ian Halperin, claims the 50-year-old pop star is suffering from eyesight troubles, is barely able to speak and in need of a lung transplant -- all caused by a Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic condition.

Halperin, who has just finished writing his book, told The Daily Express newspaper last night: "He 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."

Jackson has been photographed this year in a wheelchair, wearing a face mask. There's been no official comment on the story. His brother Jermaine told Fox News: "'He’s not doing so well right now. This isn’t a good time."

Meanwhile, TMZ is reporting that Jackson has just rented a $100,000 a month home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles.