Military Veteran Denied Organ Transplant in Ohio Over COVID Shot Status

An Ohio veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces battling congestive heart failure is fighting for his life and for change in heart transplant policies after being denied a heart transplant because he refused to get a COVID-19 shot. Fifty-four-year-old Ken Long was diagnosed with heart failure a year ago after falling ill during a family vacation. His wife Christina told Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom that he was then transported to The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati where he was told he’d be next in line for a new heart “provided that his body was otherwise healthy.”¹

The hospital ran a series of tests that found that Ken was “in perfect health other than a very sick heart” and proceeded to provide consent forms for him to sign. It was then that the hospital advised Long he would need to get a COVID shot to continue the heart transplant process, which he immediately refused.¹

‘When I decide something, I mean it and if it takes dying, it’s what it is,” Long said. “They don’t know enough about it and, plus, it’s already done a lot of damage. People have said blood clots. There are known cardiac issues and our personal religious rights.”¹

At first, Christina did not share her husband’s decision to refuse the experimental COVID shot.  “To be told he was so sick and possibly not going to live and that they were not going to give him a transplant due to his personal choice and religious beliefs, based on a vaccine, it was just absolutely mind-blowing,” she told the advocacy group. “So then you go into fight-or-flight mode. I mean, you’re a mess, you’re turned upside down, nothing makes sense, you don’t trust anybody, you’re afraid to say what you feel or think because you’re going to be judged for it. You’re afraid to ask questions because you want him to receive the best care, and the scare tactics are a real thing. I’ve lived it for a few years—it’s a real thing.”¹

She said she eventually had to “regroup herself” and ultimately decide it is his choice and his right to refuse.¹

Alternate Procedure Leaves Veteran Disabled and With Reduced Quality of Life

In lieu of the transplant, Ken instead underwent emergency surgery where doctors installed a left ventricular assist device to pump blood to his heart. The problem is, while the device provides life-saving support, it is not a long-term solution. Additionally, the device only works if the patient has electricity, and because you can’t get the device wet, simple everyday tasks like showering have become cumbersome. “I can hardly do anything if the power goes out,” he said. “I have to worry about my batteries and my charger. You can’t get wet, so showering is an issue.”¹

‘If they would have granted Ken the gift of life from someone’s family who chose to give it, he would’ve already been back to work, our lives would have resumed as normal, he would still be able to ride his Harley and have a day-to-day job,” Christina shared. “He would be able to provide for his family, he would be able to play with his grandkids and do things with his children—the list goes on and on.”¹

Denials of Transplants Over Vaccination Status a Growing Trend

Denials of organ transplants over vaccination status are becoming increasingly common. Recently, another Cincinnati hospital refused to place a 12-year-old girl, Adeline Deal, on the transplant waitlist for a heart due to her lack of flu and COVID shots,  despite the fact she was in heart failure. Her mother, Jeneen Deal, adopted her knowing she had rare heart conditions and that Ebstein’s anomaly and Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome would one day require her daughter to have a heart transplant. Now, the family is searching for a hospital that will respect their medical decisions and informed consent rights and give Adeline a chance to receive  life-saving care.²

In October 2021, a Colorado woman with stage 5 kidney disease was removed from UCHealth’s transplant list in Aurora because neither she nor her donor had received a COVID-19 shot. Similarly, in 2022, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston denied a heart transplant to a patient who refused a COVID shot.²

While hospitals enforce strict vaccine mandates for organ transplant candidates, they overlook other critical health factors like nutrition, weight management, and exercise despite their proven impact on long-term transplant success. This inconsistency raises questions about whether mandatory vaccination policies genuinely prioritize patient well-being or selectively enforce use of certain pharmaceutical product and medical requirements, while violating informed consent rights and simultaneously disregarding other measures capable of safeguarding health after transplant surgery.²

Man Denied Heart Transplant Over Vaccine Status Calls for Change

Last year, the Ohio House of Representatives introduced a bill that would prevent hospitals from discriminating against patients who opt out of vaccines. Now, after experiencing this firsthand, Ken Long is pushing for policy change, determined to ensure that no one else—especially children—faces the same life-or-death consequences over a personal medical decision. “I’m 54 years old, but there are kids out there right now that are sick,” he said, speaking to the broader issue of people in need of life-saving care being refused organ transplants over refusal of an experimental biologic labeled a vaccine. “It’s more important for these kids to have the opportunity to live.”

The bill was never voted on by the full Ohio House of Representatives.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, individuals are protected from religious discrimination, including objections to vaccinations based on their faith. Some oppose vaccines due to ethical concerns, particularly regarding the use of fetal cell lines (derived from aborted fetuses) in COVID vaccine research, development, and testing. For some, taking vaccines developed in this manner conflicts with their religious beliefs.^{2 3}

Lawmakers Move to Ban Vaccine-Linked Transplant Discrimination

Legislative efforts in the states and in Congress are underway to prevent hospitals from denying organ transplants based on vaccination status. At the federal level, Representatives Erin Houchin and Mike Rulli introduced the COVID-19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act in February 2025, with the goal of prohibiting hospitals from refusing life-saving transplants solely due to a patient’s vaccination status—a response to the case of 12-year-old Adeline Deal.

Similarly, in North Carolina, House Bill 586, or “Yulia’s Law,” was introduced after another young girl was denied a kidney transplant at Duke University Hospital for being unvaccinated. The bill, which seeks to bar transplant discrimination against patients who refuse COVID shots, passed the North Carolina House of Representatives with bipartisan support and is now under Senate review.^{4 5}
Despite its name—which implies a commitment to respecting patients’ religious beliefs—The Christ Hospital Health Network, which denied Ken Long a heart transplant, is upholding its policy barring transplants for those who refuse vaccination, even on religious grounds.¹

If you would like to receive an e-mail notice of the most recent articles published in The Vaccine Reaction each week, click here.