- The claim that a Canadian man named Garnet Harper, who died of kidney failure in 2023, was denied a kidney transplant because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 remains under investigation.
- It was true that Harper died from kidney failure on May 22, 2023, according to his obituary. Harper’s wife said he was denied a referral for a kidney transplant because he had not received the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, Snopes relies on primary evidence, such as medical records and officials’ confirmation, to rate claims. Since we were unable to independently verify that Harper’s vaccination status directly led to him being refused a kidney transplant, we’ve left this claim unrated. - Snopes will update this report if, or when, additional information surfaces. We await responses from Harper’s family and London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario.
A rumor that a Canadian man who died in 2023 was denied a kidney transplant because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 circulated online in August 2026.
Social media users claimed Garnet Harper, a 35-year-old father of five from Sudbury, Ontario, died from kidney failure after he was rejected from the transplant list due to his vaccination status.
One post read, “Harper was not referred to the London Health Sciences Centre’s transplant program because he had not received a COVID-19 vaccine. Without access to the transplant program, he continued battling his illness while his condition worsened.”
Snopes readers seeking to verify claims about the events leading up to Harper’s death have contacted us since 2023.
Harper died on May 22, 2023, after battling kidney disease, according to his obituary. His wife, Meghan Harper, told an independent journalist that he was denied a referral for a kidney transplant because he had not received the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, Snopes relies on primary evidence, such as medical records and officials’ confirmation, to rate claims. Since we were unable to independently verify that Harper’s vaccination status directly led to him being refused a kidney transplant, we’ve left this claim unrated.
We reached out to Harper’s family and London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario, for documentation specifying his vaccination status as the reason he was denied a transplant. We will update this article if we hear back.
Harper’s obituary featured a photograph of him wearing a t-shirt that said, “Unmasked. Unmuzzled. Unvaccinated.” It did not otherwise refer to his vaccination status, but called him an “ardent advocate for equal rights for all” who “promoted personal and medical freedom during a dark period of Canada’s history.”
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The memorial page also listed other health problems for Harper, including that he was “diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a very young age.”
According to his wife,
Garnet’s apparent opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates was documented on his wife’s Facebook page, where she posted a photo of him with a handmade sign featuring the Canadian flag and the words “mandate freedom.”
A crowdfunding campaign to support the family with medical and legal expenses, which was unpublished as of this writing but archived on the Wayback Machine, claimed Harper’s case was “rife with medical malpractice.” The fundraising page said:
He was in need of a kidney transplant, which he was denied due to his vaccination status. Garnet’s referral to a transplant centre was denied, meaning he wasn’t even considered for a place on an organ donation list.
When he consented to begin dialysis, he was mistreated by the doctors and staff over masking rules, resulting in a botched surgery that landed him with a staph infection. After that, he was never the same. His health quickly deteriorated and he became septic, which in turn caused a serious heart problem, a collapsed lung, and temporary paralysis. He was told he was no longer a transplant candidate due to his poor health.
The fundraising page stated that “he was clawing his way back to health” but “died from a bleeding stroke in the middle of the night.”
The self-described independent conservative media outlet Rebel News also reported on Harper’s case in August 2023, alleging that London Health Sciences Centre changed its policy regarding COVID-19 vaccine requirements shortly before Harper’s death.
An FAQ sheet from the London Health Sciences Centre dated Dec. 12, 2022, and archived in May 2023 stated:
Currently, the Multi Organ Transplant Program in London requires that you have at least two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine before being listed for transplant and encourages you to get 1 or 2 booster shots when offered to you. If you are on the waiting list and have not yet been vaccinated, you will be placed on hold until you can get 2 doses of the vaccine.
The FAQ further stated that “medical exemptions may be allowed.”
An updated FAQ sheet dated May 19, 2023 — days before Harper’s death — that is still active on the institution’s website as of this writing read:
The vaccine will help protect you from more severe illness if you get COVID-19. If you do not get your vaccine until after your transplant, the chance of getting a good vaccine response after transplant is much lower. This is because you will be on anti-rejection drugs that lower your immune response. Like most other vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccine is much more effective if received before transplant.
It is recommended:
1) All patients receive a Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccination before being put on a transplant waiting list;
2) Patient’s close contacts should be fully vaccinated;
3) In the case of living donation, donors receive vaccination against COVID-19
The 2022 version of the FAQ sheet stated that a person was required to have at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine before being listed for transplant, while the updated May 2023 version said a COVID-19 vaccination was recommended before a person was placed on a transplant waiting list (emphasis ours).
Based on the dates on the documents, it appeared that the insitution made changes to its COVID-19 vaccination policy for transplant recipients during the timeline of Harper’s treatment.
