Woman Refused Transplant Over Vaccination Reaches Settlement

Alberta resident Sheila Annette Lewis. (Courtesy of Sheila A. Lewis)

An Alberta woman who was refused a life-saving organ transplant because of her vaccine status has reached a settlement with Alberta Health Services, as well as the hospital and doctors involved. The settlement stems from a lawsuit she filed, claiming negligence.

“The parties have recently reached a satisfactory settlement in this matter, and all funds raised through your generous donations will be going towards Shelia’s healthcare needs moving forward,” said a statement posted July 18 to the GiveSendGo page for Sheila Annette Lewis. The page was started in June to raise money so Ms. Lewis could get treatment in the United States.

“So many people have supported and contributed to this initiative and we, and Sheila, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts,” the statement continues.

The case started several years ago.

In 2018, Ms. Lewis was diagnosed with a terminal illness and told she would not survive without an organ transplant. She was placed on a waiting list in 2020, but was informed in 2021 that a COVID-19 vaccine would be required to receive the organ.

Ms. Lewis decided to challenge that decision in court. According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms: “She was unsuccessful at both the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench and the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2022, with both levels of court finding that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply to the Covid-19 vaccine policies of AHS, the Alberta Hospital where she would receive her transplant, or her transplant doctors. Both courts also dismissed her claims under The Alberta Bill of Rights.”

In January 2023, Ms. Lewis appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but in June the court announced it would not hear the case, ending the appeal process. However, Ms. Lewis had also started a lawsuit claiming negligence, and that’s what led to the settlement.

The GiveSendGo statement does not offer details on the settlement or her treatment. In fact, it said, “The settlement is subject to very stringent confidentiality provisions, with very significant consequences to Sheila if that confidentiality is breached.”

However, it goes on to say Ms. Lewis will still need money for ongoing treatment.

“The resolution and settlement of the legal action will still see Sheila requiring significant funds including but not limited to expenses while Sheila is away from home for medical reasons such as long-term accommodations, day-to-day living expenses and medications,” the statement said.

Back in May, Ms. Lewis told her story to the National Citizen’s Inquiry, which examined how the pandemic measures affected Canadians.

Ms. Lewis said she was told in 2021 that because her medical records from her childhood could not be located, she needed to get all her childhood vaccinations updated. Ms. Lewis said it took over a year to receive all her shots.

After being told COVID-19 vaccinations would be required to receive the organ transplant, Ms. Lewis asked her doctor how safe the COVID-19 vaccine was, she recounted, and was told it was “100 percent” safe. “I said, ‘There’s no data. It hasn’t been out there very long, there’s nothing on it, we don’t know anything about, so how is it 100 percent safe?’” she said.

Ms. Lewis told the inquiry that if the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear her case, she would be taken off the organ transplant list and would “never get back on.”

“When you can’t breathe, it’s one of the scariest things in the world. … If you laugh, you lose your oxygen; and if you cry, you lose your oxygen; and if you move, you lose your oxygen,” she said. “I was hoping to be given the gift of life.”

Due to a publication ban, some of the details involved in her court challenges cannot be reported. According to the Justice Centre, the ban covers the names of the doctors, the hospital, the city where the transplant program is located, and the name of the organ that Ms. Lewis requires.

The GiveSendGo page said Ms. Lewis is a mother of four and grandmother of two, and before all this happened she worked 8–12 hour days with a cleaning business to provide for her family.

It goes on to say while a settlement has been reached, Ms. Lewis will still require financial help, and “We are sure that any fair-minded person would find this consistent with the purposes for which this initiative was established. However, if anyone who has contributed wishes to have their donation returned, then please contact us to make that intention known and we will honour it, subject to any deduction that GiveSendGo might take from the donation. However, if you wish to support Sheila in her expenses regardless, thank you. We are so grateful for your support.”

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.