A prestigious medical clinic is denying a 9-year-old boy the lifesaving kidney transplant he needs just because he doesn’t have the COVID vaccination.
Most Americans understand the COVID crisis is over and a sizable percentage of Americans were never vaccinated for what they considered a flu-like virus that presented little in the way of medica issue for 99% of the people who got it.
COVID caused a massive political divide, but while most everyone has moved on with their lives as the virus and its effects have waned, that political division is still taking its toll and could cost a young boy his life. Despite the fact that COVID-19 is no longer a major threat, one child could become an ancillary victim.
Tanner Donaldson, a 9-year-old boy with stage 4 chronic kidney disease, was born with a rare birth defect causing irreversible kidney damage. Tanner’s father, Dane Donaldson, is a suitable live kidney donor, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital has refused to conduct the transplant surgery because Dane is not vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The hospital has a policy that requires all organ donors to be fully vaccinated to minimize complications during and after surgery. Dane questioned the hospital’s hypocrisy, pointing out that deceased organ donors are not required to be vaccinated. He even offered to sign a waiver freeing the hospital from liability.
But the hospital still rejected him.
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In April, the Epoch Times reached out to the hospital for an explanation. “Individuals who are actively infected with COVID-19 have a much higher rate of complications during and after surgery, even if the infection is asymptomatic,” the hospital responded.
Dane opposes the vaccine for religious reasons. But he has also been hesitant “because he has seen a rising number of clients get critically ill after receiving it,” according to the news outlet.
Tanner’s family is desperately searching for another hospital to perform the kidney transplant procedure.
This isn’t the first time a family has dealt with a denial of a lifesaving transplant because of COVID.
Duke Unviersity came under fire for refusing a life-saving kidney transplant to a dying 14-year-old girl who has not had the COVID vaccine.
Yulia Hicks, who is a rescued orphan from Ukraine, was finally adopted by a family in North Carolina after she came to the United States from the war-torn nation. The Hicks family, a Christian couple with 11 children, adopted her to provide her a loving family.
Tragically, Yulia has a genetic kidney disorder and the family brought her to Duke University hospital for medical assistance.
But on November 29, the Hicks family got some shocking news about their daughter — that it would not give her a kidney transplant because she had not had the COVID vaccine.
“To think that a committee can determine someone’s life is terrifying. This is, without a doubt, medical tyranny. What has become of the medical community? How does the refusal of a shot that is known to cause many health issues AND does NOT stop the spread of a disease deny a 14-year lifesaving therapy? How does that happen in America? Today we are sad. Tomorrow is a new day, and God is there with an answer for us,” Chrissy Hicks posted on Yulia’s website.
“We can’t require you to do anything, but we can deny you because you are not following our recommendations,” Duke’s Catherine Thomas told Chrissy Hicks during a phone call.
Lawmakers in North Carolina are fighting to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
