Refusing a 22 year old alcoholic a liver transplant?

You —

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You — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 - 03:08

Man refused liver transplant dies

A man from east London who began binge-drinking at 13 has died after being denied a life-saving liver transplant.

Gary Reinbach, 22, from Dagenham, was given only a few weeks to live after developing cirrhosis of the liver.

He was admitted to University College Hospital London (UCL) with alcohol damage for the first time 10 weeks ago.

But health chiefs ruled he should not be exempt from strict organ donation criteria which require an alcohol-free period of at least six months.

Mr Reinbach, who died on Sunday, was too ill to be sent home after his admission to hospital...

Read more @ BBC News

You — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 - 18:12

He died due to an infection three weeks after it was found - the rules are that a person has to be teetotal for 6 months before being put onto the transplant list.

That is all good and well for those that have more than 6 months to live when first diagnosed... he had no choice there.

You — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 - 14:45

No idea, but I would assume it was linked to alcohol, but it could be some other disease too.

Either way, he was not given a chance to reform his ways. If he could have survived 6 more months, maybe he would have gone teetotal? I am sure being given the choice between life and death can have a massive effect on people...

You — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 - 14:51

How about I will "eat chocolate" followed by a random accidental car crash where the teeth are broken and the dentist goes "if you ate chocolate in the past 6 months, you cannot have your teeth repaired. Sorry we just can't trust you."