Hospital refusing heart transplant for man who won't get vaccinated
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Boston hospital says it won't consider performing a heart transplant on a patient who refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 , CBS Boston reports.
DJ Ferguson, 31, is fighting for his life at Brigham and Women's Hospital and in desperate need of a heart transplant.
His father, David Ferguson, is speaking out passionately on behalf of his son who, he told CBS Boston , "has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns and he's been pushed to the limit."
DJ's family says he was at the front of the line to receive a transplant but hospital policy stipulates that he's no longer eligible because he hasn't received the vaccination.
And David Ferguson says his son simply won't.
"It's kind of against his basic principles -- he doesn't believe in it," David Ferguson says. "It's a policy they are enforcing and so, because he won't get the shot, they took him off the list (for) a heart transplant."
Brigham and Women's released a statement saying, "Like many other transplant programs in the United States – the COVID-19 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."
Dr. Arthur Caplan, the head of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, explains that being vaccinated is necessary for this type of procedure.
"Post any transplant, kidney, heart whatever, your immune system is shut off," Caplan said. "The flu could kill you, a cold could kill you, COVID could kill you. 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."
DJ is a father of two children with a third child on the way. His family says they're not sure what they plan to do. They're thinking about transferring him, but he may be too weak to be moved.
"We are aggressively pursuing all options, but we are running out of time," David Ferguson said.
And while the family says DJ has received great care from doctors and nurses at Brigham and Women's, they just don't agree with the heart transplant COVID vaccination policy.
"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," David Ferguson said.
Which is why the family is sticking by his side and hoping for the best. "It's his body. It's his choice," Ferguson added.
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They should have titled this article Man cuts of nose to spite his face.
The follow up to transplants is ridiculous, anyone receiving a transplant will be taking drugs for the rest of their life. Why would they waste a heart on a guy that has already stated (by his actions) that he doesn't trust doctors or their medicine?
cool. hospitals should be able to turn anti-vaxers away and medical insurance providers should be be able to cancel their coverage. [Deleted]
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They should of titled this article "Moron tries to play god with man's life".
I’m confused at who you think is the moron in this case. If anyone is playing god with this man’s life, it is the man himself.
Good for the hospital. Actions have consequences and that heart should go to someone who is vaccinated and not at risk for Covid19 during the recuperation and afterward. We don't give new livers to people who are alcoholics.
Fine, stick to your principles.
I feel sorry for his family, but if he has a life insurance policy I hope it gets denied. He’s basically committing suicide.
I have personally espoused that insurance company need to adjust their policies to state that, if a person refuses the vaccine with no legitimate medical reason, should lose all coverage for COVID related symptoms.
Absolutely. The same should apply for Medicaid and Medicare.
yeah, that's how I express feeling sorry for a family. Hope they suffer financially as much as possible.
The lack of basic compassion on the left never ceases to amaze me.
If I needed a heart transplant , making sure I stayed eligible for the procedure would be at the absolute top of my list. This man's actions are totally inexplicable.
Agreed. With the immunosuppressive and anti-rejection drugs a transplant patient must take, any infection can be deadly. Even the simple cold could kill him. I feel sorry for his family and for him, poor decisions have impacted his life in a very direct way. But to hope the family also suffers financially???
yeah, that's how I express feeling sorry for a family. Hope they suffer financially as much as possible.
The lack of basic compassion on the left never ceases to amaze me.
It pales in comparison to the ignorance of comments like yours. How much compassion do you have for the person who dies next in the transplant line - dying right along side the idiot who got a life saving heart transplant without taking the most basic of precautions to keep himself alive. At least that person’s family will deserve a life insurance payout. All the whining and bitching the right does about wasteful spending but you all are fine with suicide payouts from the same insurance company you pay premiums to.
Makes you wonder how he could believe in the science that developed heart transplants
He thinks it’s all about choice. Like he’s choosing to want a heart transplant, and choosing not to want a vaccine. Sorry buddy, you can choose to buy a lottery ticket but you don’t get to choose whether you win or not. The pandemic has really illuminated the limits of human stubbornness.
It's also illuminated the limitless stupidity of humans too.
I wonder if they know about all the medications that are part of surgery, recovery, and anti-rejection drugs?
Idiots.
Wants transplant surgery but won't take vaccine? I can not understand this
I dont understand it either. Offhand, I'd say vaccines are far safer and easier than transplants. And yet, some don't want a vaccine for...reasons? There's no reasoning with such individuals.
It’s pure stubbornness. They aren’t scared of the vaccine, they just absolutely refuse to get vaccinated solely because they’re being told to. My daughter is in that camp. She thinks that since she had Covid once she is better protected than the vaccinated, and nobody is going to convince her otherwise. There’s no reasoning with them.
What set of “basic principles” allows you to trust doctors to transplant an organ in your body (and everything connected to that) but not allow them to prepare you for surviving the process by giving you a vaccine?
I think his basic principle is that nobody is allowed to tell him what to do, and he will martyr himself before capitulating. It is stupefying and we see it much more often than I ever would have expected prior to the pandemic. Usually it’s a case of an idiot getting bitch slapped by Covid after they stick their neck out and stoically make untrue claims about the dangers of getting vaccinated. In this case it’s even more moronic, since he’s already guaranteed to die if he doesn’t get vaccinated.
Oh yay we now have sub variants............."Stealth Omicron" has arrived. Was mostly in Europe.
Should fat people be denied heart transplants? Over 70% of the people that die from covid are overweight, 53% are obese.
It seems covid pushed their health over the edge. All the more reason to be vaccinated and use protective measures.
From what I gather the drugs that they receive to make sure the transplanted organ isn't rejected, basically suppresses their immune system.
I think anyway.
If the shot will make the virus less of a danger, it would be stupid not to.
You are correct. Transplant recipients must use immunosuppressive therapy. That puts them at greater risk for infection. They should be getting vaccinated. Otherwise, they might end up wasting a perfectly good organ.
ive got a used piano...
You are correct. As careful as he was in everything after his heart transplant, my younger brother got the flu/pneumonia one and a half months after his and subsequently died 2 days later. There was no way to stop it. And that was in the eighties and the young age of 32. I would think they have learned a lot since then but I work with a gentleman who had a liver transplant two years ago and never any problems I am aware of.