In the US state of Massachusetts
Doctors deny anti-vaccination heart transplants
01/27/2022, 10:18 am
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The corona vaccination contradicts his “basic principles” – this conviction is fatal to a 31-year-old patient in Boston. The responsible hospital rejects organ transplants in unvaccinated people. The chances of survival are too low, says a medical ethicist.
According to media reports, a hospital in the US metropolis of Boston has refused a heart transplant to a patient who has not been vaccinated against the corona virus. The 31-year-old patient’s father, David Ferguson, told CNN and ABC that his son had been removed from the list of heart transplant candidates because he did not want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said that the corona vaccination was one of the “requirements” for organ transplants in the clinic. In addition, there would be further requirements for the affected patients. It must be ensured that a patient has a good chance of survival after the organ transplant because his immune system is then “drastically suppressed”.
“We’re running out of time”
Ferguson said his son was already “on the brink of death.” The 31-year-old rejects the corona vaccination because it contradicts his “basic principles”. “He doesn’t believe in it.” Ferguson said he respects his son’s decision. He now wants to transfer him to another hospital. “But we’re running out of time,” he added.
The medical ethicist Arthur Caplan from New York University referred to the immense risks of corona infections for patients with freshly transplanted organs on the CBS broadcaster. “If you get an organ transplant, your immune system will be completely turned off. Covid could kill you.” Caplan expressed understanding for the decision by clinics to only transplant organs from people who had been vaccinated against Corona. “The organs are sparse. You wouldn’t give them to someone with a low chance of survival when there are other vaccinated (candidates) who have a better chance of surviving after surgery.”
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