Duke University Hospital Denies Kidney Transplant to 14-Year-Old Girl for Being Unvaccinated

Duke University Hospital is reportedly denying a life-saving kidney transplant to a dying 14-year-old girl who has not taken the COVID-19 shot.

Yulia Hicks, who is a rescued orphan from Ukraine, was adopted by a North Carolina family after she came to the United States.

Hicks has a genetic kidney disorder and the family brought her to Duke University Hospital for medical assistance.

However, on November 29th, the Hicks family received shocking news – the hospital wouldn’t provide a kidney transplant because she had not had the COVID-19 shot.

REPORT: Duke University REFUSES KIDNEY TRANSPLANT to Dying 14-Year-Old Girl After Refusing to Take COVID Vaccine…

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) December 7, 2022

Duke University surgeons are refusing a 14-year-old girl a kidney transplant because she has not received the Covid shot https://t.co/RXjC5POhYO

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) December 7, 2022

“To think that a committee can determine someone’s life is terrifying. This is, without a doubt, medical tyranny. What has become of the medical community? How does the refusal of a shot that is known to cause many health issues AND does NOT stop the spread of a disease deny a 14-year lifesaving therapy? How does that happen in America? Today we are sad. Tomorrow is a new day, and God is there with an answer for us,” Chrissy Hicks posted on Yulia’s website. 

The website added:

We were hopeful that things would go our way. Today we were told that Yulia cannot have a transplant at Duke even if we have a live donor for her because of our refusal of the HPV and Covid vaccines. The HPV is new, we just learned of it yesterday. So here we sit contemplating our next steps.

National File reported:

The question on their minds is, what if they get the lifesaving surgery for Yulia, and she has complications from the vaccine? Chrissy Hicks shared her concerns with National File.

Up to the late November phone call between the Hicks and the Duke medical staff, the Hicks family believed the vaccination for Yulia was an option and that they could opt out and still get the surgery.

Lee Hicks wrote about the timeline of events that got them to the phone call.

” Oct 7, we had an 8-hour appt at Duke to talk to many doctors. Dr. Chambers was the biggest one pushing the vaccine. Dr. Chang said he highly recommended it, but it was not mandatory and that families had gotten transplants without it. 

Then we got an email from Catherine Thomas, a wellness coordinator, on Nov 9, stating what vaccines Yulia needed.

The First email was what they recommended. Then in a second email, the verbiage changed to what she must have or what was required. Yulia was presented to the committee on 10 Nov and denied because of a lack of the vaccine.“

During the uncomfortable conference call, the staff made it clear that without the vaccination, Yulia would not be considered for surgery. After skirting the issue, one medical staff answered decidedly when asked if the shot was a requirement, saying ‘yes’.

During the 15 min phone call, both of the Hicks parents wondered if what they were being told was the official hospital policy because between the members on the conference call that day, there was a great deal of confusion as to why the shot was being required of them or if it was, based on conflicting statements by the medical experts.

The Hicks family provided National File with a recording of the phone call:

“We can’t require you to do anything, but we can deny you because you are not following our recommendations,” Catherine Thomas told Chrissy Hicks.

“We do not have medical freedom or religious freedom anymore,” Chrissy Hicks told National File in reaction to the conversation.

Alex Berenson added in Unreported Truths:

Yulia is not in imminent danger. But receiving a transplant outside North Carolina, where she lives, will add to the expense and complexity of the transplant, further disrupt her life and potentially add to the risks she faces by interfering with her routine of home dialysis. The Hickses – who have eight biological and three adopted children – are now trying to raise $25,000 to help pay for the additional expenses of traveling for a transplant.

“We were hoping that they would come around,” Chrissy Hicks said. “But from the beginning they have pushed it on us.”

Despite this new challenge, Yulia remains optimistic, Chrissy said.

“She’s the happiest child I’ve ever met in my life,” she said.