Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
People with a severe drink-related liver disease are to be considered for transplant for the first time, reopening the debate over whether people who are thought to bring ill health on themselves deserve expensive treatment.
The decision by the NHS's blood and transplant service (NHSBT) comes at a time when there is a national shortage of suitable organs, and amid concerns that donors would be reluctant to support schemes of this nature.
Health officials concede they are acutely aware of the sensitivities surrounding their decision, but argue that a pilot scheme is worthwhile. "We transplant humans, not angels," NHSBT's associate medical director James Neuberger told the Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/03/heavy-drinkers-considered-nhs-liver-transplants
The decision by the NHS's blood and transplant service (NHSBT) comes at a time when there is a national shortage of suitable organs, and amid concerns that donors would be reluctant to support schemes of this nature.
Health officials concede they are acutely aware of the sensitivities surrounding their decision, but argue that a pilot scheme is worthwhile. "We transplant humans, not angels," NHSBT's associate medical director James Neuberger told the Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/03/heavy-drinkers-considered-nhs-liver-transplants