A seriously ill father-of-two has been removed from the transplant list for a new heart because he refuses to have the Covid vaccine.
DJ Ferguson is in dire need of a new heart and was scheduled to have the life-saving operation as he suffers from a hereditary condition which causes his lungs and heart to fill with blood and fluids.
The 31-year-old's family say he was at the "front of the line" to receive a new organ until he refused to change his stance on the Covid jab - and now faces a grave future reports CBS.
The hospital said it was just following policy, while his father, David, called his son "courageous".
He added: "My son has gone to the edge of death to stick to his guns and he’s been pushed to the limit.
"I think my boy is fighting pretty damn courageously and he has integrity and principles he really believes in and that makes me respect him all the more.
“It’s his body. It’s his choice.”
Mr Ferguson has been in hospital since November 26, 2021, waiting for a new organ.
His family say they do not know what to do next as he may be too weak to move from his hospital bed.
Boston Brigham and Women's Hospital, part of Harvard Medical School, said the jab is required for transplant candidates.
In a statement, they said: “Given the shortage of available organs, we do everything we can to ensure that a patient who receives a transplanted organ has the greatest chance of survival.
"Like many other transplant programs in the United States – the COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines and lifestyle behaviours required for transplant candidates in the Mass General Brigham system in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation.”
The hospital added most of the 100,000 people on waitlists for organ transplants will not receive an organ within five years due to a shortage of available organs.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasises side effects from the vaccine are rare and temporary - encouraging transplant recipients and those in their immediate circles to get fully vaccinated and boosted.
Around 63% of Americans have had two jabs, while about 40% have received the booster despite a huge push.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, Head of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says being vaccinated would not be necessary for the procedure.
He added: “Post any transplant, kidney, heart whatever your immune system is shut off.
“The flu could kill you, a cold could kill you, COVID could kill you.
"The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better chance post-surgery of surviving."
