A 14-year-old girl has been denied a kidney transplant operation by the Duke University children’s hospital because she hasn’t been vaccinated for COVID-19.
Yulia Hicks suffers from a rare degenerative kidney condition known as Senior Loken Syndrome, which requires a transplant, according to reports.
Though she is not vaccinated against Covid, she has had the coronavirus, so the parents argue she’s protected by natural immunities.
Due to her age, the virus only poses a low risk for the teenager.
However, Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, is refusing to put her on the kidney wait list because she is unvaccinated, according to her family.
Chrissy and Lee Hicks of North Carolina adopted their daughter Yulia from Ukraine nearly two years ago, according to Fox News.
The couple has eight biological children and three of who are adopted.
Yulia’s adoptive parents recorded a phone call with Duke Health in which the family was told that doctors would not do the kidney transplant unless Yulia received a Covid shot.
“I can’t require you to do anything,” a Duke Health kidney specialist reportedly told the Hicks in the phone call.
“I can recommend these things, but if you don’t follow our recommendations, then Yulia can’t be a transplant candidate here.
“Being unvaccinated to the CDC recommended vaccinations based on her age is part of that,” the kidney specialist added.
Her family says doctors told them Yulia’s natural immunity was not enough, according to a recorded call.
“The virus has continued to mutate and so the natural immunity is not as good as if you had natural immunity plus vaccination,” one doctor said in the phone call.
Some studies have shown that natural immunity can be superior to the COVID vaccine.
One recent study also suggested that the Covid vaccine could be to blame for certain organ transplant recipients rejecting their new organs.
Yulia stayed with two other U.S. families before the Hicks, who are working hard to give her a stable, loving home.
Yulia’s condition requires daily peritoneal dialysis, which her family has done with her at home every night for over a year.
They say that they have been working with Duke for the last two years since her dialysis is through the hospital.
On Friday, Hicks appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and said they are hoping a medical center will come forward and offer to perform the transplant without the vaccination requirement.
“There’s no sympathy whatsoever from any of them,” Hicks told Carlson.
“It’s just strong-arming us, just give her the vaccine, and then you’ll get the transplant.”
WATCH:
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
The family says they do not have extra funds to travel out of state to another hospital for the kidney transplant, so they have set up a fundraiser to help with the costs as well as a website to share updates on Yulia.
“We have had an outpouring of help already,” Hicks said.
“We’re so grateful for people who have stepped forward.”
After the family’s appearance on Carlson’s show, the fundraiser exploded.
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity we have been shown,” Lee and Chrissy Hicks posted in an update to the GiveSendGo fundraiser.
“Our God is great! He will not abandon us. …
“TO GOD BE THE GLORY!”
