Study: Patients Are Rejecting Transfusions From Vaccinated Donors

In several instances, patients requested blood from specific donors known to have refused the COVID-19 shots

Doctors and medical researchers are raising concerns about a growing number of patients refusing blood transfusions over fears tied to COVID-19 shots.

A recent study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center documented 15 cases in which patients or their families declined transfusions because they did not want blood from donors who had received COVID-19 shots. In several instances, they instead requested blood from specific donors known to be unvaccinated.

Researchers say these “direct donor” requests have become more common since the pandemic. Because blood banks do not track donors’ vaccination status, patients seeking this option often turn to friends or relatives whose medical history they know.

While the number of documented cases remains limited, clinicians report that such requests are increasing nationwide.

The requests are being driven by broader public concerns about the safety of the shots. Those concerns range from fears about genetic alterations to dangerous side effects like myocarditis and pericarditis, forms of heart inflammation that have been observed in patients following vaccination, particularly younger males.

Public health officials have validated those concerns. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described the COVID-19 shot in stark terms, calling it “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”

Similarly, Vinay Prasad, who heads the Food and Drug Administration’s biologics division, has raised concerns about the shots. In November, he revealed that an internal FDA review of 96 deaths found that 10 children died from the mRNA shots—and, as Prasad wrote, “the real number is higher.”

Public opinion data suggests these concerns are widespread. A Rasmussen poll found that 51% of American adults believe it is at least somewhat likely that COVID-19 vaccines have caused myocarditis in many people, while 28% said they do not believe that is likely and 21% were unsure.

Another Rasmussen survey reported that 49% of respondents believe the vaccines may be responsible for a significant number of unexplained deaths, and 28% said they personally know someone they believe died as a result of vaccination.

In a separate poll of 1,232 voters, one-third of respondents said they agreed with the statement that COVID-19 vaccines are “killing large numbers of people,” while 57% disagreed and 11% were undecided.

The Vanderbilt study noted that many of the transfusion refusals involved children and teenagers, with decisions often made by parents.