'An ultimatum': Albertan claims her vaccine status is getting in the way of needed lung transplant

An Alberta woman says she was almost taken off the lung transplant list because of her COVID-19 vaccination refusal — and there's a chance she could still be removed in the near future.

Annette Lewis, a 57-year-old from Wetaskawin, says she'll die without a double lung transplant.

But this summer, she alleges Alberta Health Services (AHS) threatened to pull her name from its donor list because of her vaccination status.

"They called me and said in order to get the transplant, I need the COVID-19 jab," Lewis said in an interview with the Laura Lynn Show.

"(But) my lungs, they're in very bad shape, and I can't take a chance on getting a vaccine."

Lewis called the immunization "experimental" and alleges it has led to "really bad side effects" and death. 

Both claims are heavily disputed by most medical professionals. 

Lewis says doctors called her and said her name would be taken off the list if she continued to refuse being vaccinated. 

Court filings show she sent a notice of application addressed to the University of Alberta Hospital, AHS and six doctors. 

"When she was situated at number two on the transplant recipient list, unilaterally and without basis, an ultimatum - the Requirement - was provided to the Applicant," the filing reads. 

Lawyer Allison Pejovic says an agreement was recently reached that will keep Lewis on the list until the injunction is argued in court and the judge renders a decision.

"So (now) if those lungs come in and they are compatible with her, she goes for her surgery, and we don't have to argue this case at all," Pejovic told CTV News. "Obviously for her this is extremely emotional. Is she afraid to lose? You know, it's no guarantee of winning."

AHS wouldn't comment specifically on any patient, but did send a statement saying, in part, "transplant programs have an obligation to do all they can to obtain the best possible outcomes from the precious resource of organ donation. COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant, is a highly infectious and virulent virus which has an even greater impact on immunocompromised individuals such as lung transplant recipients."

Transplants are a finite resource and oftentimes, subjective decisions about patients and their future quality of life must be made before they are placed on a waiting list.   

"It has long been a requirement of all transplant programs in Canada that patients being prepared for transplant have all vaccines that are appropriate for them to maximize their chances of success post-transplant," the AHS statement said. 

One ethics expert agreed.

"A set of lungs that become available, become available because somebody has died," said medical bioethicist Juliet Guichon.

"There is a moral obligation on the part of the transplant team to put the lungs in a body that is likely to benefit from the lungs as long as possible."

Guichon called the case "sad," saying she felt for Lewis because she refused to be immunized. 

"There are other people on the list who have complied with the guidelines that would help the patient be as strong as possible," Guicon added.