Father rejected as kidney donor for his own son over vaccine policy

The Cleveland Clinic's vaccination policy is preventing Dane Donaldson from donating a kidney to his nine-year-old son, Tanner, despite his being an almost perfect match.

The clinic's policy is that all patients and donors who are still living must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order for surgery to be performed on them, and it appears that no exceptions are being made in the case of the Donaldsons.

According to local news, Tanner Donaldson "...was born with one kidney and right now it functions at between 18-20 percent." His condition is currently being managed, but, sooner or later, he is going to need a transplant,

"Tanner's a third grader. Personality-wise, he’s like every other kid, very happy. Just a fun kid all the way around, plays basketball. He's now into lacrosse. At this age, there's not a lot of contact. So he's good there."

"Medically, a little bit different than most children. He was born with a birth defect called posterior urethral valves. It's a valve that blocks urine from exiting the body."

The Donaldson family has decided, for personal reasons, not to take the vaccine at all. Dane Donaldson explained is position to the local media:

"[The idea that everybody needs to be vaccinated] was a little bit thrown down our throat. I mean, it was everywhere we turned. I couldn't shop at a grocery store without hearing it over the loudspeaker."

"So the more it became, the more just studying it, what's involved in it, is there informed consent? Do I get to see the ingredient list?"

The Cleveland Clinic confirmed that they do have a vaccine requirement in place for transplant surgeries, both for the donor and for the patient. They refused to comment further on the issue, however.

A similar incident happened in Oct 2021 at the University of Colorado Hospital, where an unvaccinated patient waiting for a transplant was taken off of a waiting list.

Another such incident happened in Feb 2022 at another hospital in Texas, where a teenager was denied surgery, and almost denied even basic appointments and lab work, due to his being unvaccinated.

Also, in Waukesha Wisconsin – as well as many other locations nationwide – a vaccine mandate for workers led to severe staff shortages at a children's hospital, impacting their ability to give proper care to patients.