A hospital in Texas could face a probe after allegations that it may deny organ transplants to patients who refuse the experimental COVID-19 jab.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Houston Methodist Hospital following the allegations.
“The letter directs Houston Methodist to clarify whether its policies comply with state law prohibiting discrimination against organ transplant patients based on vaccination status. This action comes amid reports that the hospital may have previously conditioned access to life-saving procedures, such as kidney transplants, on patients getting the COVID-19 vaccine,” a press release from Paxton’s office read.
“Texans looking to receive medical care should never be turned away due to arbitrary COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by woke medical providers,” said Paxton.
“Vaccine mandates as a precondition for certain life-saving treatments may not only violate new state laws that became effective on September 1, but they also violate human dignity and run contrary to foundational principles of medical ethics. That’s why I’ve requested that Houston Methodist Hospital clarify its compliance with Texas’s new laws and position on vaccine mandates,” he continued.
🚨NEW: I'm warning Houston Methodist Hospital over alleged COVID-19 vaccine mandates for organ transplant patients.
Texans looking to receive medical care should never be turned away due to arbitrary COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by woke medical providers. pic.twitter.com/Bj5jIG4RtS
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) October 13, 2025
The Texan has more:
In correspondence sent from the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Healthcare Program Enforcement Division on October 2 to Houston Methodist Hospital’s President and CEO Marc L. Boom, the hospital was given two weeks to respond with clear steps to ensure its compliance with the state’s vaccine mandate laws and organ donor-related protocol.
The letter cited a law that was passed during the 89th Legislative Session: House Bill (HB) 4076 by state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) which bans organ transplant recipient discrimination on the basis of vaccination status. It was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, and went into effect on September 1.
The letter referenced a July 2024 X post made by Dr. Mary Talley Bowden — who was embroiled in litigation after being fired by Houston Methodist for prescribing ivermectin to patients with COVID-19 — which shared a screenshot from the hospital’s Kidney Transplant Program Evaluation and Waitlist Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG).
It read, “The kidney transplant will be postponed until the recipient receives the Covid-19 vaccine,” adding that if patients did not receive a vaccine from the hospital, then they must “provide valid documentation of receiving the Covid-19 vaccine from the provider.”
Upon the OAG’s announcement on Monday, Bowden posted that to “my knowledge, their policy has not changed.”
The letter asserted that “If still in effect, the Kidney Transplant CPG would violate state law by requiring patients to receive a COVID-19 vaccine prior to a kidney transplant. Further, to the extent any other Houston Methodist transplant policies mandate vaccination of any kind for transplant patients or penalize them solely based on their vaccination status, including, for instance, by giving them lower priority on transplant waitlists, those policies would also violate state law.”
“I have written and oral proof (recorded conversation) Houston Methodist hospital required transplant patients to get the Covid shots. To my knowledge, their policy has not changed,” Bowden said.
“Here’s the phone call I had with their transplant center,” Bowden wrote with accompanied audio.
Take a listen:
Here’s the phone call I had with their transplant center. pic.twitter.com/EwqDW4kf9e
— Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MdBreathe) October 13, 2025
“Here’s the document showing kidney transplant patients had to have the Covid shot,” she added.
Here’s the document showing kidney transplant patients had to have the Covid shot. pic.twitter.com/1zgGH72Bar
— Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MdBreathe) October 13, 2025
Houston Methodist denied the allegations.
“Houston Methodist does not have a policy requiring transplant patients be vaccinated against COVID-19, or any other disease, and does not deny care based on vaccination status,” the hospital said in a statement to KHOU 11.
“We abide by all state laws and as one of the largest transplant programs in the country, the safety of our patients always comes first,” it added.
The social media post that triggered this investigation was mine. 💪 pic.twitter.com/uI3GsqQB47
— Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MdBreathe) October 14, 2025
KHOU 11 noted:
The letter directs the hospital system to clarify whether its policies comply with state law prohibiting discrimination against organ transplant patients based on vaccination status. Paxton gave Methodist 14 days to provide a written explanation of the steps taken to comply. He threatened that failure to respond would result in a formal investigation.






