A North Carolina man would rather die than get vaccinated so he can receive life-saving kidney surgery.

Chad Carswell, a double amputee who has undergone several major cardiac surgeries, desperately needs a kidney transplant. He says his kidney is only operating at about 4% and the thrice weekly dialysis is what is keeping him going, but that is only temporary.

Carswell said he went to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital where he had all kinds of scans done in the past, hoping to get a transplant, but he found out that the hospital has a policy that required him or anyone who wants to donate to be vaccinated before surgery.

Carswell told WSOC that friends and local businesses have raised the money for him to get the surgery and more than 100 people have offered to donate. But, since he will not get vaccinated, the surgery cannot move forward.

He will not change his mind.

“I was born free. I will die free. I’m not changing my mind,” Carswell told WSOC. “I’ve had conversations with my family and everybody who is close to me and they know where I stand and there will not be a situation that occurs where I’ll change my mind on this topic.”

Medical professionals have advised Carswell to get vaccinated so he can have the surgery or he will die. That is a chance he is willing to take because he said no one should be forced to make a decision about when to get vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the hospital is defending their decision saying the vaccine is about protection since transplant patients are at a much higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the average person due to their weakened immune systems. 

Carswell is now looking for other hospitals in North Carolina and beyond to see if they will perform the life-saving surgery even though he’s unvaccinated.