Covid-19 Vaccine: Man denied heart transplant by Boston hospital

A U.S 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, Mr. David Ferguson. He said the Covid vaccine goes against his son’s “basic principles, he doesn’t believe in it”.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital said it was following policy. It further said 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”.

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.

A father-of-two with a third child on the way, Mr Ferguson has remained at the hospital.

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 courageously and he has integrity and principles he really believes in and that makes me respect him all the more,” said Mr. David Ferguson. “It’s his body. It’s his choice.” He added.

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.