A young girl’s family claims that the Duke University Children’s Hospital is refusing her a kidney transplant because she has not had the COVID vaccine.
The 14-years-old Yulia Hicks was unvaccinated, she has a genetic kidney disorder that requires a kidney transplant but because of this, Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, is refusing to put her on the kidney waitlist, according to her family.
The hospital informed them that Yulia would not be eligible for a kidney transplant unless she also had the COVID vaccine, in a phone call with Duke Health that Yulia’s adoptive parents recorded.
In the phone call, a Duke Health kidney specialist reportedly told the Hicks, saying,
“I can’t require you to do anything. I can recommend these things, but if you don’t follow our recommendations, then Yulia can’t be a transplant candidate here.”
The kidney specialist added that “Being unvaccinated to the CDC recommended vaccinations based on her age is part of that.”
According to a call that was recorded, doctors told them Yulia’s natural immunity was not enough, although Yulia’s family claims she has already contracted COVID and recovered.
One doctor said in the phone call, “The virus has continued to mutate and so the natural immunity is not as good as if you had natural immunity plus vaccination.”
However, the COVID vaccine could be to blame for certain organ transplant recipients rejecting their new organs, as one recent study suggests. Some other studies have also shown that natural immunity can be superior to the COVID vaccine.
Failing to provide a comment by the deadline, a representative for Duke Health initially told The Daily Wire that they would check on the situation when contacted for comment.
Yulia was one of the 11 children the Hicks family adopted from Ukraine in January 2021. Before the Hicks, who are working hard to provide her with a secure, loving home, Yulia resided with two previous American families.
Due to Yulia’s health, her family has been performing peritoneal dialysis with her at home every evening for more than a year. Since she receives her dialysis through the hospital, they claim to have been working with Duke for the past two years.
“They tell us all the time she’s a model patient. We do everything they tell us to do, really. The only thing we won’t do is get this COVID vaccine,” Hicks said.
Adding, “That’s why we feel like it’s kind of a power struggle because it’s like, you told us it was a recommendation. Recommendation means I get to choose. But you’re denying me because of your recommendation.”
Tucker Carlson speaks with a mother whose daughter was denied a kidney transplant by Duke University Hospital because she hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Find out more: https://t.co/UQrv0UQAxz pic.twitter.com/gNzIycs8WU
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 10, 2022
Chrissy Hicks, mother of Yulia said they are hoping a medical facility will step forward and agree to do the transplant without the obligation for vaccinations, on Friday during an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.
Hicks told Carlson, “There’s no sympathy whatsoever from any of them. It’s just strong-arming us, just give her the vaccine and then you’ll get the transplant.”
Unsure of what legal steps they will take, as the family has also hired a lawyer, however, Yulia’s mother claimed they cannot risk putting her life in jeopardy through litigation.
Hicks‘ family still wants the policy changed for others, although they no longer have faith in Duke’s medical staff to carry out Yulia’s transplant.
“This is not just us that’s facing this. We’ve been given a microphone for whatever reason. It’s not just for us. It’s to change the policy so that other people don’t suffer the same thing that we’re suffering,” Hicks said.
Hicks said that she now sends her husband with Yulia to attend most of their appointments, as she claimed that the experience has emotionally taxed her because the doctors bully her more than they bully her husband.
“We really try to shield our children a lot from it. We just don’t want them to have to carry our burden,” Hicks said, “We’re both veterans. We fought for freedom and we’re not even able to experience it right now.”
The family has established a fundraiser to help with the costs as well as a website to share updates on Yulia as they claim they do not have extra money to fly outside of the state to another hospital for the kidney transplant.
Hicks said, “We have had an outpouring of help already. We’re so grateful for people who have stepped forward.”
Sources: Dailywire, Foxnews, DailyMail
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