An unvaccinated wife of a seriously ill father-of-2 slammed Boston Hospital for refusing to take her husband off heart transplant list. She claimed that he was not vaccinated and they were pushed into making a decision.  

Heather Dawson, the wife of DJ Ferguson (31), has taken aim at Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital, claiming that they denied DJ Ferguson a life-saving, non-vaccinated organ transplant. 

The hospital said it removed Ferguson from the donor list because all transplant recipients needed to be vaccinated in order to ‘create both the best chance for successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation.’  

Dawson indicated that Ferguson was already considered a high-risk candidate for the vaccine, due to his swollen hearts. According to the American Lung Association, mRNA vaccines can cause temporary swelling in the heart. This is most commonly seen in young men (male adolescents) and adults. 

“He is at very high risk of sudden deaths if that happens,” she stated, citing fears for his health and the possibility of his heart swelling. “We’re literally in an impossible situation right now. It is very important to do this quickly. 

“We are being forced to pick a shot that can kill him. 

This is not a political matter. The people must have the option to choose! “People need to have a choice!” she stated. 

DJ Ferguson, 31 (pictured) has a hereditary heart condition that causes his lungs and heart to fill with blood and fluid without intervention from intravenous medication. He has been denied a life-saving heart transplant because he refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19

DJ Ferguson, 31, (pictured), has a hereditary cardiac condition. This causes his lungs to be filled with fluid and blood without the need for intravenous medication. A life-saving transplant has been refused for Ferguson because he is refusing to be vaccinated.

Ferguson (right) is pictured with his wife, Heather Dawson, and their two children. His wife is now saying that the vaccine could cause more heart swelling and could cause his death and that the hospital has put them in a 'corner' to 'pressure' them to 'choose a shot that could kill him'

Ferguson (right), is seen with Heather Dawson, his wife and their two children. Now, his wife claims that the vaccine may cause him more heart damage and death. She also says that they have been placed in a corner to make them ‘choose the shot that can kill him.

Ferguson's family is considering moving him to another hospital, but he may not be able to be moved in his condition

Ferguson’s family may move him to another hospital. However, he might not be able be moved to his current condition.

Dawson posted the update on GoFundMe. 

“After running numerous tests, scans and many more tests we found that DJ was in serious end stage heart disease. This means that DJ will require a heart transplant.

‘On top his heart failure, he is also extremely swollen. He is now at high risk for heart attack, she explained. The unfortunate news is that he will not be actively listed on the transplant list due to his immunization status. 

Patients who are not eligible for organ transplants may be disqualified by certain factors 

  • Non-vaccination for COVID 
  • If untreated, such as schizophrenia, psychological conditions can prevent patients from caring properly for their transplants.
  • There is an increased risk that you will drink alcohol following a transplant.
  • Smoking within 6 months of potential transplant 
  • Abusive of substance 
  • Obesity
  • Systemic, localized or severe infection 
  • There has been no cancer in the 5th year, except for localized skin lesions (not melanoma), stage I breasts or prostate. 
  • HIV/AIDS
  • John Hopkins University Guidelines for Age Appropriateness state that recipients of heart transplants should be no older than 70.
  • Refusal to commit to transplantation
  • Insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage
  • Irreversible renal failure
  • Pulmonary thromboembolism: Acute
  • Unable to pay for post-operative or transplant care. 

However, Ferguson’s father, David, said earlier that getting vaccinated is ‘kind of against his basic principles’ and that his son ‘doesn’t believe in it.’

“I feel that my boy is fighting bravely. He has integrity and principles that he truly believes in, which makes me admire him more…It’s his corps. He can choose. 

The hospital, which has a list of protocols for transplant candidates that includes a ban on lifestyle choices like smoking and alcohol, said requiring the COVID-19 vaccine is common at many medical center’s throughout the country. 

According to UCHealth, the mortality rate of transplant recipients suffering from COVID is higher than 20%. 

‘It’s a policy they are enforcing and so because he won’t get the shot, they took him off the list of a heart transplant,’ David told CBS Boston. 

“My son went to great lengths to keep his guns up and has been tested to the limits.” 

Ferguson’s family may transfer him to another hospital. However, his wife stated that Ferguson might not be able to move. 

“DJ is now unable to leave the hospital until the necessary heart surgery. Without the surgery his lungs and heart will continue to fill up with blood and fluid (on top of everything else that’s going on),’ said Ferguson’s wife, on Facebook. 

CBS Boston’s Dr. Arthur Caplan is the Head of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He stated that transplants require vaccinations since patients are effectively switched off by their immune systems after receiving an organ.

“The flu could be fatal, you could get a cold, and COVID can cause death.” He explained that the organs are limited and we won’t give them out to anyone who is less likely to survive than those who have been vaccinated.

Ferguson isn’t the first person who was denied a transplant because of their vaccine status.  

In October, Leilani Lutali of Colorado, 56, was taken off the transplant list at a University of Colorado Health hospital because she and her prospective kidney donor Jaimee Fougner, 45, hadn’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine. 

'It’s a policy they are enforcing and so because he won’t get the shot, they took him off the list of a heart transplant,' Ferguson's father David told CBS Boston

Ferguson’s father David stated to CBS Boston that it was a policy Ferguson is required to follow and because Ferguson won’t be able get the shot, they removed Ferguson from the heart transplant list. 

The pair were placed on a list for those who are ‘non-compliant by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.’ 

Lutali, a Born Again Christian, has refused to receive vaccinations due to the use stem cells for developing vaccines.

Boston Brigham and Women's Hospital (pictured) removed Ferguson from its donor list because has not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and said in a statement that their aim is to 'create both the best chance for successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation'

Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital (pictured), has removed Ferguson’s name from its donor registry because he did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In a statement they stated that the hospital’s goal is to provide the greatest chance of successful operations and patient survival following transplantation.

Lutali stated that he is a Christian and cannot support any kind of abortion. He also said that the sanctity life was precious to him.

Fougner (a friend of Lutali and a potential donor) has also rejected the vaccine, citing religious motives.

Since the 1960s, cells from elective abortions were used in developing effective vaccines, including vaccines against rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis A.

COVID-19 does not include aborted fetal cell lines, as many social media users falsely claim. However, they used fetal cell line for their development.  

Ohioan Mike Ganin was vaccinated against COVID but his donor didn’t give him the shot. He wasn’t allowed to have a kidney transplant.

“I do not want the vaccine. I’ve got reasons — medical, religious, and also freedom,’ the donor, Sue George, told WKYC. 

In October, Leilani Lutali of Colorado, 56 (pictured), was taken off the transplant list at a University of Colorado Health hospital because she and her prospective kidney donor hadn't gotten the COVID-19 vaccine

Leilani Lutali, 56, of Colorado (pictured) was removed from the transplant list at University of Colorado Health because she and her potential kidney donor had not received the COVID-19 vaccination.

UCHealth is a Colorado-based hospital and urgent care facility that offers hospitals as well as medical services. It stated that patients should take the COVID-19 vaccination to ensure the organ doesn’t get rejected. 

UCHealth stated that an organ transplant requires a special surgery. It can cause serious complications and even death.

“Physicians should consider both the long-term and short-term risks to patients when recommending organ transplants.”