A hospital in Boston is refusing to perform a heart transplant on a patient because the 31-year-old man will not get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
DJ Ferguson is currently receiving treatment for a hereditary heart condition at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Ferguson's family said he was at the top of the list to receive a heart transplant, until the hospital denied the life-saving operation because he is unvaccinated for COVID-19 and plans to stay that way.
"It's kind of against his basic principles, he doesn't believe in it," Ferguson's father, David, told CBS Boston. "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."
The hospital confirmed the decision, explaining that all transplant recipients must abide by certain conditions in order to qualify for the procedure.
"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," the hospital said in a statement.
David Ferguson said his son has received great care at Brigham and Women's Hospital, but they just can't agree with the hospital's COVID vaccination policy for transplant patients.
"My son has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns and he's been pushed to the limit," David Ferguson said. "It's his body. It's his choice."
"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," he added.
Now, the family isn't quite sure what to do. DJ Ferguson is a father of two and has a third baby on the way. His father hopes to find a hospital that doesn't have the same policy, though he admits that could be difficult.
"We are aggressively pursuing all options, but we are running out of time," David Ferguson said.
A GoFundMe account to help with medical bills has raised over $31,000.
Related
Related
