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A 31-year-old American who urgently needs a donor heart was removed from the waiting list for a transplant by his clinic – partly because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19, as the British “BBC” reports.
The man is at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, according to the report.
The clinic notes in a statement that having multiple officially recommended vaccinations is one of the requirements for putting someone on their waiting list for an organ donor.
The vaccination against Covid-19 is one of them, as is the annual flu vaccination and vaccination against hepatitis B. In addition, the patients are obliged to adopt other “healthy behaviors” and to show that they are taking the medication required after the transplant accordingly .
According to the clinic, these rules should ensure the greatest chance of a successful operation and improve the probability of survival after the transplant.
The “BBC” clinic did not say whether there were other reasons against leaving the man on the waiting list, after all, it is confidential medical data.
The patient's father made the case public.
He says the vaccination goes against his son's core principles, "he doesn't believe in them."
Anyone living with a donor organ must take medication that suppresses the immune system to prevent the body from rejecting the organ.
These funds inevitably lead to a worsening of the immune system against infections.
Those affected therefore also have a significantly higher risk of becoming seriously ill in the event of a corona infection.
Completely different situation in Germany
There could not be a case like this in Germany.
"No medical treatment in Germany is made dependent on being vaccinated, not even a transplant," says Christian Strassburg from the University Hospital Bonn, who is President of the German Transplantation Society.
For ethical reasons, this is not conceivable otherwise.
In this case, however, it also makes no medical sense to assume vaccination, according to the expert.
Because people who are waiting for a donor organ because of severe organ damage have a limited immune response – so there is no guarantee that they will build up immune protection after a vaccination.
“Nevertheless, we advise all those affected to be vaccinated,” says Strassburg.
Antibody tests can be used to roughly estimate whether a vaccination has worked.
If not, more doses than the generally recommended three can be administered over time.
In addition, patients who do not build up their own immune protection can be protected by a so-called passive vaccination with monoclonal antibodies.
However, one of the approved agents is no longer effective enough against the omicron variant.
Strassburg says it's extremely rare for patients awaiting a donor organ to refuse the Covid-19 vaccine.
"I find it more likely that they are sad that their immune system does not react to the vaccination as hoped." He emphasizes that the environment is important for the protection of this risk group: Contact persons should be vaccinated.
wbr