“I Will Die Free”: Unvaccinated Man Denied Kidney Transplant by Hospital

North Carolina-

A North Carolina man in need of a lifesaving kidney transplant says he would rather die than get the  COVID vaccine.

That stark outcome could be a possibility, because a hospital in Winston-Salem is refusing to do the procedure unless he gets vaccinated.

Chad Carswell has faced many hurdles in his life.

He’s a double amputee and has undergone major surgeries on his heart, but it is his kidney, which is only functioning at 4% that has some undergoing dialysis, three times a week, leaving him in need of a transplant.

“Without one, you know, there’s no telling how much longer I’ll still be here, but I have to had a kidney, you know, to prolong my life,” says Chad Carswell.

Carswell says that friends and local businesses raise money for the transplant. He then came here to Baptist hospital in Winston Salem where scans and tests were done. But then he was told he needed something else to be fully vaccinated.

“They said, you know, the last thing we need talk about your vaccination status. And that’s when I politely told him there was nothing really to talk about it, it wasn’t up for debate that I wasn’t getting it. And then he told me, you know, you know, you’ll die if you don’t get it. And I said, I’m willing to die,” says Carswell.

Carswell says he was also told anyone wanting to donate also had to be vaccinated.

The hospital says their policy follows the current standard of care in the United States, saying in a statement, “The reason it is recommended is to provide protect action for the patient transplant. Patients are at high risk for severe illness. If they don’t have preexisting immunity prior to being transplanted.”

Carswell says he’s had COVID-19 twice and doesn’t believe he needs the vaccine.

Even if it means he can’t get his surgery.

“I’m not changing my mind. I’ve had conversations with my family and everybody that’s close to me, they know where I stand, and it’ll not be a situation that occurs that I will choose to change my mind on this topic. No sir,” Carswell says.

Chad Carswell-North Carolina