Colorado Hospital Denies Woman’s Kidney Transplant Due to COVID-19 Vaccine Denial

A Colorado hospital has rejected a woman for a kidney transplant after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, officials have confirmed.

Leilani Lutali received a letter on September 28 informing her that the transplant team at the University of Colorado Hospital has decided to put her inactive on the waiting list for transplants.

“You will be inactivated on the non-compliance list by not receiving the COVID vaccine,” the letter reads.

If Lutali continues to refuse to be vaccinated, she “will be taken off the list of kidney transplants,” he added.

Neither Lutali nor his designated donor, Jaimee Fougner, have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Fougner didn’t do it for religious reasons, while Lutali believes there isn’t enough information on vaccines, they told KCNC-TV.

According to Lutali, hospital officials previously said vaccination was not necessary to get a transplant.

“I’m here, ready to be a direct donor to her. It does not affect any other patient on the transplant list, ”Fougner said. “How can I sit here and allow them to kill my friend when I have a perfectly good kidney and can save her life?” “

The hospital did not respond to a request for comment. He told the media in a statement that there are many requirements in transplant centers, such as requiring patients to avoid alcohol.

“In almost all situations, transplant recipients and living donors at UCHealth must now be vaccinated against COVID-19 in addition to meeting other health requirements and receiving additional vaccinations. Some US transplant centers already have this requirement in place, and others are now making this policy change, ”the hospital said.

State Representative Tim Geitner, a Republican who first became aware of the situation, said in a live Facebook video that he spoke with Lutali and she tested positive for antibodies against the CCP virus, which causes COVID-19, but the hospital refuses to make an exception.

“This is shown by the documentation. And UCHealth still refuses to provide that kind of care, that kind of life-saving care – it’s not even just typical care, it’s vital care. And it’s incredibly frustrating, incredibly sad, incredibly disgusting, that UCHealth is making this type of decision and impacting an individual in such a dramatic and profound way, ”he told his followers.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit organization that manages the United States organ transplant system, such policies are not unique, but are not mandatory for transplant facilities.

“Each transplant hospital makes its own roster decisions based on the hospital’s best clinical judgment, including whether or not a specific vaccination is part of its eligibility criteria. If you have any questions about the list of criteria in your transplant hospital, we encourage you to contact the hospital directly, ”the network says on its website.

At least one other hospital has reportedly rejected potential transplant recipients due to a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sam Allen was told earlier this year by Washington University of Medicine that his heart transplant surgery could not be completed unless he got the vaccine.

“The cardiologist called me and we had a discussion, and he informed me that, ‘Well, you’re going to have to get the vaccine to get a transplant.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s news to me. And no one has ever told me that before. And he says, ‘Yes, that’s our policy,’ ”Allen told KTTH radio.

The university says on its website that people should be fully vaccinated before having a solid organ transplant “unless you have a specific medical exception that prevents you from receiving the vaccine.”