January 1, Patient Removed From Heart Transplant List For Refusing COVID Vaccine

A Boston-area hospital removed a 31-year-old father from its heart transplant list because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

David Ferguson said his son, DJ Ferguson, was previously on the list to receive the transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, but he’s no longer eligible because of his vaccination status.

“It’s kind of against his basic principles; he doesn’t believe in it. It’s a policy they are enforcing, and so because he won’t get the shot, they took him off the list of a heart transplant,” David told CBS Boston.

“My son has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns, and he’s been pushed to the limit.”

The hospital released a statement, saying that the coronavirus vaccine “is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviors required for transplant candidates in the Mass General Brigham system in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation.”

A Brigham and Women’s Hospital spokesperson reiterated the hospital’s policy, saying it does everything it can “to ensure that a patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of survival.”  

“Our Mass General Brigham healthcare system requires several CDC-recommended vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, and lifestyle behaviors for transplant candidates to create both the best chance for a successful operation and to optimize the patient’s survival after transplantation, given that their immune system is drastically suppressed,” the spokesperson said.

The father of two’s family said he’s received excellent care from the hospital, but they don’t agree with the vaccine policy and are “aggressively pursuing all options.”  

“I think 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,” Ferguson said.

Source:

Man Can’t Get Heart Transplant Because He’s Not Vaccinated Against COVID