A Minnesota man says his wife, who is in dire need of a kidney transplant, is being denied treatment because she is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Glenn Wilson transcribed an email from the M Health Fairview hospital system sent to transplant patients, describing its guidelines for those patients to receive a transplant.
“We are writing to share new guidelines regarding immunization against COVID-19 for patients seeking transplantation,” that email said. “At M Health Fairview, your safety is our top priority. Based on guidance from the American Society of Transplantation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, M Health Fairview is requiring all patients seeking transplantation to receive the COVID-19 vaccine…”
It was sent to all “Solid Organ Transplant Candidates,” including Wilson’s wife, Justina, who at one point was near the top of the list of candidates due to the critical nature of her case.
Tina, as Wilson calls her, has already had a kidney transplant. He donated one of his kidneys to her in 2007. He says the average length of function for a kidney transplant is five years, but through prayer and dietary supplements, Tina’s kidney has lasted 15 years.
Now, though, she is in grave danger.
In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, it was time for another transplant.
“Unknown to us is that the COVID madness had invaded Fairview as well,” Wilson told The Minnesota Sun. “They reconnected with her transplant team that had never failed her in the past in July of 2021. The transplant team acknowledged that she was eligible for transplant being less than 20% [of kidney function] and having nine years of wait time, would get an organ within weeks of the team giving the go-ahead. Her doctor at that time indicated that due to the serious shortage of organs, even though she was at the top of the list and eligible – she would have to wait.”
She waited until earlier this year, when she was taken to the hospital in critical need of a new kidney. But things became more complicated when she tested positive for COVID-19, despite the fact that she attempted to decline testing in the first place.
“I felt this forced testing was criminal coercion, but to defuse, Justina agreed to a cheek swab PCR test. I had to go home in the morning,” he said. “The test came back positive and Justina was put in total isolation in an ER curtain room – waiting for an opening on the COVID isolation floor. I was informed that I could NOT physically see her, period.”
After surviving COVID-19 and despite her kidney failure, Wilson says she was discharged from the hospital due to her unvaccinated status.
“She will be condemned to a slow death by renal failure if she will not ‘volunteer’ to take an experimental vaccine,” he told The Sun.
M Health Fairview did not return a comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “M Health Fairview” by M Health Fairview.
