Adaline Deal, a 12-year-old girl from Indiana, has been denied a spot on a heart transplant list due to her lack of vaccination against COVID-19 and the flu, according to her parents. Adaline, who is a distant relative of Vice President JD Vance through marriage, was born with two rare heart conditions. Her mother, Janeen Deal, stated that the family was aware that a heart transplant would eventually be necessary.
Adaline was adopted from China when she was four years old and has been under the care of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for almost ten years. Her parents had hoped that she would receive her heart transplant at the same hospital. However, the hospital’s policy mandates that transplant patients be vaccinated, a rule that was not waived even when the family cited their religious beliefs as nondenominational Christians.
Janeen Deal expressed her disappointment with the hospital’s decision, feeling that the focus had shifted away from saving her daughter’s life. Janeen, who believes that vaccines are unsafe, stated that she and her husband decided not to vaccinate Adaline against COVID-19 or the flu due to their spiritual convictions.
Medical professionals recommend vaccinations against preventable diseases for transplant recipients due to their increased susceptibility to infections. Dr. Camille Kotton, the clinical director of transplant and immunocompromised host infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, stated that patients with severe illnesses like Adaline’s are at a higher risk of death if infected with COVID-19 compared to other patients.
Despite the medical advice, Janeen remains confident that her family, which includes 11 other children, would not face any issues with COVID-19 post-transplant. She stated that she could not administer the vaccine to her daughter due to her beliefs about its safety.
A spokesperson for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital declined to confirm Adaline’s exclusion from the transplant list, but stated that the hospital’s clinical decisions are guided by scientific research and best practices, following guidelines from the National Institutes of Health.
Adaline’s parents are now looking for a different transplant center that does not require vaccination. A GoFundMe campaign for the transplant has raised over $50,000 as of Wednesday morning.