Holby City storyline... again

[SugarRush]

Did any of you see the one last night, about the young chap with Hep C? The transplant coordinator was prepared to lie about his alcohol use in order to keep him on the transplant list.

[SugarRush]

I know Hep C isn't due to drinking, before anyone pounces on me for that - but isn't PROVEN sobriety, through blood/tissue/hair testing, a very basic requirement pre-transplant?

[Dulux in reply to SugarRush]

I have never been tested at any point that I was made aware of, I'm sure there have been tests it would of been obvious in. I can't drink at the moment and haven't drunk since my initial diagnoses in 2013, I am not sure post transplant how I will feel about drinking, I certainly don't miss it.

[susieanna]

Didnt see it; Well, the co-coordinator would be sacked for attempting this; i didnt watch it; but you have to be 6 months sober and completely abstinent re booze forever , re transplant list to the best of my knowledge.

[SugarRush in reply to susieanna]

That's what I thought - she was saying 'it's just a blip'! I was really annoyed by it.

[AyrshireK]

Where alcohol was not the cause of your liver disease there is actually no compulsion for total abstinence post transplant - this excerpt is from the 'Going Home After Your Transplant' guidance from the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit.

" Alcohol : it is possible to take alcohol within the limits of the national guidelines.

However if alcohol is thought to have been the cause of or contributed to your liver disease, lifelong abstinence is necessary to safeguard your future health. "

[SugarRush in reply to AyrshireK]

Wow, I assumed that lifelong abstinence was the rule - surely it's for the best in order for the new liver to last long term? You learn something new every day!

[susieanna in reply to SugarRush]

i do feel that alcoholics are sometimes treated slightly unfairly; in that am i correct in thinking you are only given one chance? re sobriety.

[susieanna in reply to AyrshireK]

id have thought that rather strange, as whilst if alcohol is not the cause, surely continuing drinking/drinking to any degree would make it worse?

[AyrshireK]

Further down in the same document it states the following:-

"Drinking alcohol - Because alcohol is processed in the body by the liver, many people prefer to remain abstinent from alcohol after the liver transplant.

Taking alcohol within the limits of the national guidelines will not, however, damage the new liver providing it is working well and you are in good health generally unless alcohol is thought to have been the cause of your liver disease. If alcohol is though to be to cause of or contributed to your liver disease, total lifelong abstinence is necessary to safeguard your future health."

The full document is available at:- nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/Serv...

The full clinical protocols for pre-transplant, assessment etc. etc. are also on line at:- nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/Serv... & these will be similar from unit to unit.

Katie

[LAJ123]

With the person with a new liver due to alcohol related liver disease, its not just a matter of how your new liver will deal with alcohol, which is probably quite well as its a healthy liver. The question is, how long will it be before the behaviour that caused the failure in the first place is re-established. Probably very quickly.

Just a note - the coordinator would not only face the sack from her post but action by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for breaking her professional code of conduct. The person hiding the omission would also be guilty of the same.

Jim

[carmik]

Sorry but it would only be patients whose liver has deteriorated through alcohol that would be questioned.

If your liver problem was not caused by alcohol there is no problem if you have an occasional tipple.

Hope that clarifies the situation.

[jojokarak]

I know that people with cirrhosis through alcohol have to do a breathalyser every appointment and also they get random phone calls once every two weeks to go to doctors or local hospital to check alcohol levels.

[Hidden]

This raises some interesting issues. I had cirrhosis and then liver cancer after a diagnosis of genetic haemochromatosis but I am sure my alcohol use was a contributing factor. My almost 12 months dry before transplant was entirely voluntary (as well as a requirement once I was on the list) but since then - now 5 years - I have had absolutely no desire to drink alcohol. While acknowedging its pleasures, I am also aware of its incredible risks and its threats for those of us for whom it becomes a way of life, rather than a pleasant extra.

The appearance of problems with alcohol in soap storylines is a rarity: it is much more likely to be there as a part of celebration, commiseration, sadness and joy. I don't watch either Eastenders or Coronation Street but I know the names of their pubs!

Mike

[Bermuda1]

The most interesting thing here is that their is also though to be a genetic disposition to Liver Disease in many cases. Yes they don't advertise that fact do they . Its also why a lot of people can drink heavily and never get Liver Disease, so I do not know how this would affect someone with a new liver, surely in a similar way I would have thought . They are doing more testing in regard to this disposition , but it has been found in certain races to be more predominant too .