A man who has refused a Covid vaccine despite its proven benefits and is in need of a life-saving kidney transplant has been denied the organ due to a hospital policy.
Chad Carswell, from Burke County, North Carolina, in the US, said he is on dialysis three times a week and doesn't know how much longer he will live without the operation.
The unvaccinated double amputee, who has undergone several major heart surgeries, claims over 100 local people have even offered to donate their kidney.
But under the policies of his treatment at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem Mr Carswell says doctors won't do the surgery unless he and anyone who wants to donate their kidney have had a Covid vaccination.
A course of three Covid jabs are proven to substantially lower the risk of symptomatic disease and death.
And the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital has said the policy is in place to protect transplant patients who are at high risk for severe illness from the potentially deadly Covid infection.
Speaking to WSOC news station, he said: “Without [a kidney transplant], there’s no telling how much longer I’ll be here, I have to have a kidney to prolong my life."
Despite desperate pleas from medics, Mr Carswell even said would rather die than get the vaccine.
“That’s when I politely told him there’s nothing to talk about,” he told the station.
“It wasn’t up for debate, I wasn’t getting it. And he told me ‘You know you’ll die if you don’t get it,’ and I told him I’m willing to die.”
Mr Carswell is now looking into alternative hospitals which may be willing to perform the surgery on an unvaccinated patient.
He said: “I’ve had conversations with my family and everybody who is close to me and they know where I stand and there will not be a situation that occurs where I’ll change my mind on this topic.”
Atrium Health said the policy is in place to protect transplant patients who are at high risk for severe illness from Covid since they are immunocompromised.
“Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s policy follows the current standard of care in the United States, which is to vaccinate all patients on waiting lists or being evaluated for transplant,” the hospital said.
“We understand that some patients may not wish to be vaccinated,” the statement continued. “In this case, patients can opt to be evaluated at another transplant center.”
