In what's being seen as a controversial move, a 31-year-old man has been removed from the organ transplant list over his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
DJ Ferguson is in need of a heart transplant, but a Boston hospital has taken him off its transplant list. Being vaccinated against COVID-19 is just one of many requirements, many of which are quite specific, that transplant patients must meet in order to qualify. His family says he was first in line to receive the transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital but is no longer eligible due to his vaccination status.
The hospital denied that he could be considered first on the list, as many constantly shifting factors go into that decision-making process.
DJ's father, David Ferguson, says the situation is desperate, but his son simply doesn't believe in getting the vaccine. “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,” he said.
While the decision may seem extreme, so is the man's stance on vaccination. "My son has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns and he’s been pushed to the limit," his father said.
DJ has two children and a third on the way.
The hospital says it has good reasons for taking him off the list. While the fix would be simple — get the shot — the Harvard teaching facility says that transplant recipients are at a much higher risk of dying from COVID compared to non-transplant patients.
That means that the likelihood of a coveted perfectly good heart, which could be lifesaving for someone who needs it, going to waste is quite high.
“We do everything we can to ensure that a patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of survival,” a spokesperson told the New York Post. Seemingly, that includes making sure they are taking steps to prevent complications from illnesses that are now largely preventable.
“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 asserted.
“Patients are not active on the waitlist without this.”
DJ's family says they want to relocate him but are worried his condition is too critical to be moved. While there may be some destinations with different policies, the hospital says its policy is in line with many other transplant programs.
“We are aggressively pursuing all options, but we are running out of time,” David said. “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.
“It’s his body. It’s his choice.”
