Washington, Jan 26 : A hospital in the city of Boston refused to let a man undergo heart transplant there in part because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19, BBC reported on Wednesday. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston took DJ Ferguson, 31, off the list despite the fact that he is in dire need of a new heart.
The hospital said its decision is based on its own policy and released a statement saying “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.” It further 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”.
However some have said that the hospital statement may suggest other factors may be there beyond the patient’s unvaccinated status for his ineligibility, but it refused to discuss specifics, citing patient privacy.
