Alcohol abusers to receive NHS liver transplants for first time

For the first time people with severe drink-related liver disease will be considered for transplants under a pilot scheme.

16:28 04 April 2014

The NHS has launched a scheme that will benefit alcohol abusers by making them eligible for liver transplants for the first time. 

 

Such a move has reopened the debate about whether or not people who willingly abuse alcohol deserve costly treatment at the taxpayer’s expense. 

 

The decision by the NHS’s blood and transplant service raised concerns that donors will now be reluctant to support the schemes of this nature. 

 

Meanwhile, health officials said that they are aware of the sensitivities surrounding their decision. However, they argued that the pilot scheme is worthwhile. NHSBT's associate medical director James Neuberger, said: "We transplant humans, not angels.” 

 

The new scheme will benefit young candidates – between 18 and 40 – who are seeing the doctor for the first time with liver disease and are diagnosed with a drink problem for the first time. The transplant service will be given to people who have more than a 50per cent chance of being alive with a good quality of life after five years. Patients will be required to abstain from alcohol before the treatment and will be required to remain abstinent for the rest of their lives.