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AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – A Colorado woman with stage 5 kidney disease was months away from having a new kidney. Now she and her donor are looking for another hospital after learning about UCHealth’s new policy.
According to UCHealth, the majority of transplant recipients and living donors must now be vaccinated against COVID-19. Neither woman received her injections.
Leilani Lutali met her donor, Jaimee Fougner, during a Bible study just 10 months ago.
(credit: Leilani Lutali and Jaimee Fougner)
“It’s your choice on what treatment you have. In Leilani’s case, the choice was taken away from him. His life is now being held hostage because of this mandate, ”said Fougner.
Fougner says she did not receive the vaccine for religious reasons. Lutali didn’t get the hang of it because she says there are too many unknowns. Until last week, neither woman thought she needed to be vaccinated for the transplant.
“At the end of August, they confirmed that there was no need for a COVID vaccine at that time,” Lutali said. “Fast forward to September 28. That’s when I discovered it. Jamie has learned that they have this policy around COVID firing for both the donor and the recipient. “
Women received this letter from UCHealth:
(credit: Leilani Lutali)
UCHealth says they are “non-compliant by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.” The hospital gave them 30 days to start the vaccine series. If they refuse, they will be removed from the list of kidney transplants.
“I said I will sign a medical discharge. I have to sign a waiver for the transplant itself anyway, freeing them from anything that could go wrong, ”Lutali said. “It’s surgery, it’s invasive. I sign a waiver for my life. I don’t know why I can’t sign a waiver for the COVID vaccine. “
UCHealth has recently implemented the policy to protect the health of its patients.
In a statement, UCHealth said:
“For transplant patients who contract COVID-19, the death rate ranges from around 20% to over 30%. This shows the extreme risk that COVID-19 poses to transplant recipients after their surgery ”
UCHealth and transplant centers across the country have requirements in place to protect surgical patients. For example, patients may be required to receive other vaccines like hepatitis B and MMR, and even to make lifestyle changes. UCHealth claims that these requirements increase the likelihood that a transplant will be successful and the patient will avoid rejection.
“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 women were unable to find a hospital in Colorado to perform the transplant while they were not vaccinated. They are now looking at other states.
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