A LONDON hospital says there can be no exceptions to its rule that liver transplants are only provided to patients who are alcohol-free for six months, despite a plea from a Co Down man whose son’s liver failed after a drinking binge.
Building contractor Brian Anderson has appealed to King’s College Hospital in London to perform a liver transplant on his son, Gareth (19), who was admitted to the Ulster Hospital in Belfast just over two weeks ago after a weekend binge.
Mr Anderson from Newtownards went on the Stephen Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster and also spoke to The Irish Timesurging the hospital to make an exception to its rule.
“I need a life saved here urgently,” said Mr Anderson who fears his son will not survive for six months.
Gareth’s doctor Tony Tham said the Ulster Hospital again contacted King’s College Hospital yesterday but was told there could be no exceptions and its protocol could not be changed.
“There are many patients of all ages waiting for liver transplants. Livers are a scarce resource and demand exceeds supply. Liver transplants in certain settings associated with alcohol are risky and have a poor outcome,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Tham said it was “a difficult time for the patient and his family and we will continue to provide the best treatment possible”.
However, Dr Tham did not totally rule out hope for Gareth. “I guess there is a chance with everything, but it is a long shot . . . We have to do our best with the patient,” he said.
Mr Anderson said yesterday: “I want my son at 19 to have a chance in life. I had a text from him last night saying, ‘Daddy, please take away this pain, help me, help me’. It is now up to me, as his father, to try and save Gareth’s life.”
Mr Anderson said his son, who works with his small firm, was neither a seasoned nor constant drinker, but he had had a couple of recent “heavy weekends”.
Gareth was admitted to the Ulster Hospital on August 2nd when he turned a “jaundiced yellow colour”.
Mr Anderson said he did not know how much his son had to drink over that weekend. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. They had been out from Friday and didn’t come home until Sunday,” he said.
He said Gareth started drinking at 16 but his alcohol intake was no different than other people his age. Mr Anderson said young people drank too much.
“It was a trend when I was young too; so you know, boys do party, girls do party,” he said.
However, Gareth had never been treated for any illnesses relating to alcohol and had never missed a day’s work, Mr Anderson said. There could be no comparison, he added, to the case of George Best, who had had several warnings about how drink was killing him.
“Most people in this sort of situation get a yellow card, they get a chance to put things right, but my son has got a straight red card and that’s not fair,” he said.
