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Unvaccinated man denied heart transplant by "humanitarian" Boston hospital
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Chowda Chunks
Jan 26, 2022, 4:19:02 AM1/26/22
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A US hospital has rejected a patient for a heart transplant at least in
part because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19.
DJ Ferguson, 31, is in dire need of a new heart, but Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston took him off their list, said his father, David.
He said the Covid vaccine goes against his son's "basic principles, he
doesn't believe in it".
The hospital said it was following policy.
Brigham and Women's Hospital told the BBC in a statement: "Given the
shortage of available organs, we do everything we can to ensure that a
patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of
survival."
A spokesman said the hospital requires "the Covid-19 vaccine, and
lifestyle behaviours for transplant candidates to create both the best
chance for a successful operation and to optimise the patient's survival
after transplantation, given that their immune system is drastically
suppressed".
The hospital's carefully worded statement may suggest other factors lie
beyond the patient's unvaccinated status for his ineligibility, but it
refused to discuss specifics, citing patient privacy.
The hospital added that most of the 100,000 people on waitlists for organ
transplants will not receive an organ within five years because of the
shortage of available organs.
Daily US death toll from Covid now matches Delta
Mr Ferguson has been in hospital since last Thanksgiving weekend, 26
November 2021, and he suffers from a hereditary heart issue that causes
his lungs to fill with blood and fluid, according to a GoFundMe.
The organiser of the fundraiser said Mr Ferguson was concerned he could
experience cardiac inflammation - a potential side effect from coronavirus
vaccination that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
emphasises is rare and temporary - and that it might prove dangerous given
the weakness of his heart.
The CDC encourages transplant recipients and those in their immediate
circles to get fully vaccinated and boosted.
Dr Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of
Medicine, told CBS News that after any organ transplant a patient's immune
system is all but shut down and even a common cold can prove fatal.
"The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who
has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better
chance post-surgery of surviving," said Dr Caplan.
'I lost my job for being unvaccinated'
What's the risk of Covid for unvaccinated Americans?
US man gets pig heart in world-first transplant
A father-of-two with a third child on the way, Mr Ferguson remains at the
hospital, said his loved ones.
His family has suggested he is too weak to be transferred to a different
hospital and is "running out of time".
"My boy is fighting pretty damn courageously and he has integrity and
principles he really believes in and that makes me respect him all the
more," said David Ferguson.
"It's his body. It's his choice."
It is not the first time an unvaccinated American has faced healthcare
obstacles in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a Minnesota woman sued her local hospital after
doctors tried to take her unvaccinated husband off the ventilator he had
been on for two months.
Just over 63% of the US population is double-jabbed and about 40% of
Americans have received a third booster dose.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60132765
part because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19.
DJ Ferguson, 31, is in dire need of a new heart, but Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston took him off their list, said his father, David.
He said the Covid vaccine goes against his son's "basic principles, he
doesn't believe in it".
The hospital said it was following policy.
Brigham and Women's Hospital told the BBC in a statement: "Given the
shortage of available organs, we do everything we can to ensure that a
patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of
survival."
A spokesman said the hospital requires "the Covid-19 vaccine, and
lifestyle behaviours for transplant candidates to create both the best
chance for a successful operation and to optimise the patient's survival
after transplantation, given that their immune system is drastically
suppressed".
The hospital's carefully worded statement may suggest other factors lie
beyond the patient's unvaccinated status for his ineligibility, but it
refused to discuss specifics, citing patient privacy.
The hospital added that most of the 100,000 people on waitlists for organ
transplants will not receive an organ within five years because of the
shortage of available organs.
Daily US death toll from Covid now matches Delta
Mr Ferguson has been in hospital since last Thanksgiving weekend, 26
November 2021, and he suffers from a hereditary heart issue that causes
his lungs to fill with blood and fluid, according to a GoFundMe.
The organiser of the fundraiser said Mr Ferguson was concerned he could
experience cardiac inflammation - a potential side effect from coronavirus
vaccination that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
emphasises is rare and temporary - and that it might prove dangerous given
the weakness of his heart.
The CDC encourages transplant recipients and those in their immediate
circles to get fully vaccinated and boosted.
Dr Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of
Medicine, told CBS News that after any organ transplant a patient's immune
system is all but shut down and even a common cold can prove fatal.
"The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who
has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better
chance post-surgery of surviving," said Dr Caplan.
'I lost my job for being unvaccinated'
What's the risk of Covid for unvaccinated Americans?
US man gets pig heart in world-first transplant
A father-of-two with a third child on the way, Mr Ferguson remains at the
hospital, said his loved ones.
His family has suggested he is too weak to be transferred to a different
hospital and is "running out of time".
"My boy is fighting pretty damn courageously and he has integrity and
principles he really believes in and that makes me respect him all the
more," said David Ferguson.
"It's his body. It's his choice."
It is not the first time an unvaccinated American has faced healthcare
obstacles in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a Minnesota woman sued her local hospital after
doctors tried to take her unvaccinated husband off the ventilator he had
been on for two months.
Just over 63% of the US population is double-jabbed and about 40% of
Americans have received a third booster dose.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60132765
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