A Boston hospital has defended itself after a man’s family said he was denied a new heart for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that most transplant programs in the country have similar requirements to improve chances of success. patient survival.
DJ Ferguson’s family said in a crowdfunding petition this week that officials at Brigham and Women’s Hospital told the 31-year-old father of two that he was ineligible for the procedure because he is unvaccinated. against COVID.
“We are against the wall right now. This is an extremely sensitive time,” the family said in their petition, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars. “It is not a political issue. People need to have a choice!”
The man’s mother, Tracey Ferguson, insists her son is not opposed to the vaccine, noting that he has received other injections in the past. But he said Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation — an irregular and often rapid heartbeat — and that he is concerned about side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.
“DJ is an informed patient,” Tracey Ferguson said in a brief interview at her home in Mendon, about 30 miles southwest of Boston. “He wants the doctors to assure him that his condition will not be worsened or lethal with this COVID-19 vaccine.”
The hospital declined to comment on DJ Ferguson’s case, citing patient privacy laws. But he pointed to a response he posted on his website that said the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several immunizations required by most U.S. transplant programs, including a flu shot and vaccinations. against hepatitis B.
The hospital said research has shown that transplant recipients are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than other patients, and that its policies are in line with recommendations from the American Society for Transplantation and other health organizations.
Patients must also meet other health and lifestyle criteria to receive donated organs, and it is unknown if DJ Ferguson met or would have met them.
There is a shortage of donor organs, so transplant centers only place on the waiting list patients who they think are most likely to survive with a new organ.
Hospitals in other states have faced similar criticism for denying transplants to patients who were not vaccinated against COVID-19.
In Colorado last year, a woman with advanced kidney disease said the hospital denied her a transplant because she hadn’t been vaccinated. Leilani Lutali, a Christian, said she opposed immunization because of the role fetal cell lines play in the development of some vaccines.
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