Poll: Should heavy drinkers be allowed to have liver transplants?
Heavy drinkers diagnosed with liver disease could now be considered for a transplant, the organ transplant service has said.
The NHS Blood and Transplant Service will launch a pilot scheme offering a life-saving organ donation to 20 patients who have been diagnosed with severe liver disease and an alcohol problem for the first time, it has been reported.
It comes at a time when the demand for liver transplants in the UK far outweighs the number of donations, according to the NHS. James Neuberger, associate medical director at the NHSBT, said the service is aware the decision could test the public's trust in organ donation.
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The new scheme will be opened to patients with severe alcohol associated hepatitis (SAAH), who have previously been excluded from organ consideration because of poor prognosis.
The patients must be aged between 18 and 40 and seeing a doctor for the first time with liver disease as well as being diagnosed with a drink problem for the first time.
Mr Neuberger said alcohol use was a 'very complex and emotive area'. He said: "We need to retain public confidence that organs donated are used properly."
Current NHSBT guidelines say prospective recipients with liver-related disease must abstain from alcohol ahead of the transplant and for the rest of their lives.
