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A Colorado woman with stage 5 kidney disease struggles to find a new hospital to have a kidney transplant after being refused the transplant because she and her donor are not vaccinated versus coronavirus.
Leilani Lutali and her kidney donor Jaimee Fougner sat down with “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday to share their story.
In August, Leilani learned that receiving a vaccine was not a prerequisite for receiving her transplant.
“I had a myriad of emotions, from confusion to dismay, I was told a month ago that I wouldn’t have to take this photo, then I moved forward a month later now, I said something different then I was a month earlier. That left me with a feeling of now what? “Lutali told host Todd Piro.
WASHINGTON STATE UW MEDICINE SAYS IT WILL DELETE UNVACCINATED PATIENTS FROM ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST
Lutali said he received a letter from UCHealth at the end of September explaining that she and Fougner had 30 days to begin the vaccination process. and would be taken off the kidney transplant list if they refused the injections.
Fougner described the hospital as taking her friend’s life hostage with the warrant.
“I don’t know why they would do this. I am in the medical field and our first job is to be compassionate with our patients and to involve them in their care, and the choices they have for their health care. I feel like this the choice was taken away from Leilani and she was sentenced to death by the hospital, ”Fougner said.
“For transplant patients who contract COVID-19, the death rate ranges from around 20% to over 30%. This shows the extreme risk COVID-19 poses to transplant recipients after their surgery, ”the health system told CBS4.
The health system also noted that patients should receive other vaccines, such as against hepatitis B, to ensure that a transplant will not be rejected.
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Lutali and Fougner are now hoping that a hospital in another state will perform the transplant.
“Our trust is in our Lord Jesus Christ, we know he can do anything, so our hope is in him and if there is a hospital that can do the surgery, they will contact us,” Fougner said.
Lutali met Fougner 10 months ago during a Bible study. Lutali said she had not received the vaccine because there were still too many unknowns, while Fougner had not been vaccinated for religious reasons.
Emma Colton of Fox News contributed to this report.
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