Top surgeon hits out at Beaumont's 'inconceivable' decision to allow unvaccinated patients on transplant list

Potential recipients for a kidney transplant are already routinely required to be vaccinated against viral diseases, like viral hepatitis and chickenpox. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie
One of Ireland’s most high-profile surgeons has heavily criticised management of a Dublin hospital for keeping unvaccinated transplant candidates on the waiting list.
Dr David Hickey, a former head of Ireland’s National Transplant Unit, described the decision by management at Beaumont Hospital in north Dublin as “inconceivable”.
“It is inconceivable that some pen pusher overrides the decisions made by senior transplant physicians of internationally recognised expertise,” said Dr Hickey.
He added that the decision amounts to “a major crisis in how medical care is delivered.”
A spokesperson for Beaumont, when queried on Dr Hickey’s statements, reiterated that “no patient, regardless of vaccination status, will be or has been removed from the transplant list”.
“In the event of a donation, a risk/benefit assessment will be completed to determine whether a safe and successful transplant can be undertaken in all circumstances,” they said.
“Risk assessment may result in deferral of transplant surgery if the risk to the person is considered too high at that time because of inability to engage with protective measures or for any other reason.”
The National Kidney Transplant Service sought suspension of unvaccinated patients from the waiting list in early August, but management at Beaumont declined to follow the advice.
Heads of the National Kidney Transplant Service, Ms Dilly Little and Dr Colm Magee, said in a letter to Beaumont dated 3 August that the transmission risk of new Covid variants meant they felt it would not be possible to offer transplants to unvaccinated recipients.

Management of Beaumont Hospital "are sticking their noses into critical medical affairs,” Dr Hickey said.
“Hospital management should stick to deciding what colour the carpet is or how many toilets there are. They have no business in influencing medical decision, that is way beyond their remit.”
“A good analogy would be the stadium managers of Croke Park influencing how Cork or Limerick are due to play in the All Ireland, you just wouldn’t see it happening,” added Dr Hickey, who was a three-time football All Ireland winner with Dublin in the 1970s.
He said that unvaccinated patients “simply have to be suspended”.
“The problem is if you have a transplant then you’re immunosuppressed, which means you could die if you contract Covid, which means you waste an organ, but you’re also risking bringing the infection into a highly immunocompromised situation in the hospital,” he said.
“This is a watershed moment in Irish medicine, it is potentially the end of patient care as we know it. This should not be a hospital management decision.
“I worked in Beaumont for 30 years. I was director of the transplant unit, and you have to remember that it isn’t Beaumont’s unit, it just happens to be located there.”
Potential recipients for a kidney transplant are already routinely required to be vaccinated against viral diseases, like viral hepatitis and chickenpox.
“It is reasonable and morally correct to insist on Covid vaccination prior to being allocated a cherished gift and scarce resource,” Dr Hickey said.
“An active alcohol abuser will not get on the liver transplant waiting list in most transplant centres,” he added.