A US Hospital Took A Man Off The Heart Transplant List Because He Won't Get Unvaccinated
"He doesn't really believe in it," the man's dad said.
A heart patient in Boston has reportedly been taken off the wait list for a potentially life-saving heart transplant, in part because he refuses to meet the requirements by getting vaccinated.
DJ Ferguson, 31, is in need of a heart transplant, but he's also decided to "stick to his guns" and is refusing a COVID-19 vaccine, his father David told CBS Boston.
In a GoFundMe post, the patient's friends and family claim that he was initially at the front of the line for a transplant, but Brigham and Women's Hospital removed him from the list because transplant candidates must be vaccinated.
"His heart has now deteriorated so much to the point where it won't work on its own," David Ferguson said. "It's kind of against his basic principles. He doesn't really believe in it."
He added that DJ is a father of two with another on the way.
The hospital said in a statement that it wants to maximize the chances of success with its transplants, and that's why recipients must be vaccinated. However, it refused to comment specifically on any one patient.
"Like many other transplant programs in the United States – the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviours 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,” the hospital told CBS Boston.
Users on Twitter weighed in, with some suggesting that mandates for receiving high-risk surgeries, such as the vaccine ones, are common.
Others commented on the trust from patient to doctor and how those boundaries vary with patients and procedures they're willing to get.
"I’m confused about the 31-year-old father who won’t get a heart transplant because he refused to be vaccinated. He’ll trust doctors to do a heart transplant but not about the COVID vaccination?" said @GinnyMcDonald8 on Twitter.
DJ's family told CBS News that they're looking to transfer him to another hospital, and they fully support his decision to refuse the vaccine.