When a Colorado woman in need of a kidney transplant was denied the procedure because she refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a firestorm ensued on social media about that medical decision.

However, organ transplant doctors say health decisions around transplants – as well as vaccination and lifestyle change requirements – are nothing new.

The doctors say evidence shows that COVID-19 impacts people living with a transplanted organ on a much larger scale, so they understand why a COVID-19 vaccine could be a crucial part of a transplant procedure.

“We have a fair amount of data showing the negative consequences of COVID following a transplant,” Dr. Kapil Saharia, MPH, an assistant professor at the Institute of Human Virology and the chief of Solid Organ Transplant Infectious Diseases Service at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Healthline.