Cleveland Clinic Bans Severely Ill Ohio Man From Kidney Transplant Because The Donor Isn’t Vaccinated

The Cleveland Clinic appears prepared to condemn some patients to death with its requirement that transplant donors accept a Covid-19 vaccination.

Unvaccinated woman delivers ominous message after hospital denies organ transplant over vaccination status: 'My days are numbered'



A Colorado woman who says the UCHealth system denied her organ transplant because she is not vaccinated against COVID-19 says that her "days are numbered."

Earlier this week, the Colorado health system confirmed it will deny organ transplants for unvaccinated patients in "almost all situations."

What are the details?

The woman, Leilani Lutali, told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Thursday that she has stage 5 renal failure.

"I believe that my days are numbered as I continue to deteriorate in my GFR numbers," she said.

Lutali, who appeared alongside donor Jamiee Fougner, added that she reached out to the health system, which that she was "irresponsible in not getting" the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fougner added, "How can I sit here and allow them to murder my friend when I've got a perfectly good kidney and can save her life?"

The two met during a Bible study group over the past year. Fougner offered one of her kidneys to Lutali after the two developed a close friendship.

"They're holding my kidney hostage and she's going to die because they won't give it to her."

Fox reported that the health system released a statement on the announcement which read, "For transplant patients who contract COVID-19, the mortality rate ranges from about 20% to more than 30%. This shows the extreme risk that COVID-19 poses to transplant recipients after their surgeries."

UCHealth previously added, "This is why it is essential that both the recipient and the living donor be vaccinated and take other precautions prior to undergoing transplant surgery. Surgeries may be postponed until patients take all required precautions in order to give them the best chance at positive outcomes."

In its letter to Lutali, the health system said:

The transplant team at University of Colorado Hospital has determined that it is necessary to place you inactive on the waiting list. You will be inactivated on the list for non-compliance by not receiving the COVID vaccine. You will have 30 days to begin the vaccination series. If your decision is to refuse COVID vaccination you will be removed from the kidney transplant list. You will continue to accrue waiting time, but you will not receive a kidney offer while listed inactive. Once you complete the COVID vaccination series you will be reactivated on the kidney transplant list pending any other changes in your health condition.

Ingraham pointed out that she believes the case is a "classic" example of "discrimination."

Colorado hospital system announces it will deny organ transplants for unvaccinated patients in 'almost all situations'



COVID-19 immunization status is deciding who gets care in some cases, according to a disturbing report from the Washington Post.

What are the details?

UCHealth, a Colorado-based hospital system, is denying organ transplants to unvaccinated patients in "almost all situations."

"In almost all situations, transplant recipients and living donors at UCHealth are now required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in addition to meeting other health requirements and receiving additional vaccinations," a spokesperson for UCHealth said in a statement to The Hill.

UCHealth explained that patients who receive an organ transplant are at "significant risk for COVID-19" and stated that the mortality rate for transplant patients who are infected with the coronavirus is between 18% and 32%.

"This is why it is essential that both the recipient and the living donor be vaccinated and take other precautions prior to undergoing transplant surgery," the health system's statement explained. "Surgeries may be postponed until patients take all required precautions in order to give them the best chance at positive outcomes."

The rules made headlines on Tuesday after Rep. Tim Geitner (R-Colo.) announced that the health system denied a kidney transplant to an area woman because she did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement, Geitner called the practice "disgusting."

He shared a letter that he said the unnamed patient reportedly received last week from the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

In its letter, the health system said:

The transplant team at University of Colorado Hospital has determined that it is necessary to place you inactive on the waiting list. You will be inactivated on the list for non-compliance by not receiving the COVID vaccine. You will have 30 days to begin the vaccination series. If your decision is to refuse COVID vaccination you will be removed from the kidney transplant list. You will continue to accrue waiting time, but you will not receive a kidney offer while listed inactive. Once you complete the COVID vaccination series you will be reactivated on the kidney transplant list pending any other changes in your health condition.

UCHealth denies life saving treatment - kidney transplant - to El Paso County resident. See my FB live post… https://t.co/PVaurOj6p2

— Tim Geitner (@tgeitner) 1633459877.0

What else do we know about this?

The Post report noted that the health system "declined to discuss particular patients" due to federal guidelines.

The health system on Tuesday, however, confirmed that "nearly all of its transplant recipients and organ donors must get vaccinated against the coronavirus."

Dan Weaver, a spokesperson for UCHealth, said the health system isn't the only one making such decisions in the United States, and pointed out that certain conditions on meeting the requirements for organ transplants — including smoking cessation and more — are nothing new.

"An organ transplant is a unique surgery that leads to a lifetime of specialized management to ensure an organ is not rejected, which can lead to serious complications, the need for a subsequent transplant surgery, or even death," Weaver said. "Physicians must consider the short- and long-term health risks for patients as they consider whether to recommend an organ transplant."

Weaver did not state what might exempt a patient from getting the vaccine.