Liver disease

[Tverma]

Can a person with alcoholic liver disease donate blood?

[Hidden]

Hello and welcome to this lovely site here you will find like minded people, who have maybe been through what you are going through.

We are not medically trained and cannot comment on tests or results. All the same we are here for you emotionally.

Sadly, I am not sure about this answer. I think maybe the liver Guru, our friend Richard will know.

So hold on he will I am sure answer you soon.

In the meantime. Welcome. Xx Jaycee

[Tverma in reply to Hidden]

Ok..thnx jaycee19

[Tverma in reply to Hidden]

Hope will get an ans soon

[Richard-Allen]

Good Morning Tverma.

Sorry for the delay in replying to you. Firstly in answer to your question, I would advise against donating blood. Although donating blood is a very noble gesture, This could inadvertently cause more harm than good.

As you may be aware, the Liver passes around 2000 litres of blood and filters it 350 times per day.

If a person has a severe liver disease as in the case of cirrhosis, then the liver may not be able to filter the blood as well as it should. Many of the substances that are in our blood system at any one time, can be quite toxic.

I don’t know if you happen to know, but normally when we eat food, it passes from the stomach into the gut where it gets broken down still further by friendly bacteria. (Probiotics) As this food gets broken down, certain hazardous toxins such as ammonia are produced. These toxins are normally made safe by the liver and passed on to the kidneys. It is, in fact, the ammonia that gives our wee it’s distinctive smell.

If the liver is damaged as in the case of cirrhosis, then in some cases it can’t always process the ammonia and other toxins. This can then leak out into the blood system where it travels up to the brain and cause damage. This condition is known as Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE).

On my website, I use a video of Charlie Hobson who explains what it’s like living with HE: tllp.co.uk/Medical%20Conseq...

So, I think I would err on the side of caution and not donate blood. I would also advise you to ask a healthcare professional or UK liver specialist for further information. I hope this helps.

Welcome to this rather quiet site. Please feel free to ask or share with any other issues you may have.

Best wishes.

Richard

[Tverma in reply to Richard-Allen]

Thnks alot foh replying Liver-Lifestyle-Guru..

Can u pls further tell me about alcoloic liver disease if a person is diagnosed with that n he is told to live 1 or 1.5 years so what will be the symptoms at this stage? Nd will he be able to digest alcohol at this stage?

[Richard-Allen in reply to Tverma]

On the website I sent you the link to, is about my personal experience with Alcohol-related liver disease: tllp.co.uk/

It should be mentioned that all people are different in as much as they may have different medical conditions as their livers begin to struggle. Some may experience Varaceis while others may have Ascites. Some may even have both conditions.

Because the liver is responsible for carrying out over 500 different functions, it’s only when some of these functions begin to fail that other symptoms begin to show. The other problem is that the liver doesn’t have any pain receptors and so can’t always tell you when it’s being damaged. Some people don’t know they have a problem with their liver, until one day they wake up and the whites of their eyes have turned yellow.

The first thing to do is to “STOP DRINKING ALCOHOL”. This is your, “wake-up” call and is your bodies way of telling you it’s being severely damaged. Once a liver becomes cirrhotic, the extensive scaring has caused so much damage, that the liver is no longer able to repair its self. That is not to say it’s the end. A person can go on to lead a normal life if certain lifestyle changes are made.

And no alcohol.

People who develop an alcohol problem, do so for many reasons. For some it may be that life has become so bad that they use alcohol as a form of escape. It could be they have suffered from a emotional traumatic experience. Or even due to the loss of a loved one. There are many reasons as to why they start in the first place. Quite often the reason for wanting that drink can become lost, and that the addiction and cravings takes over. Either way, this is a mental health issue. The doctors and medical staff can help heal the body, but the mind can still be damaged. It is important that a person like this gets both the medical and mental support at the same time.

Try and understand why you drink, what is the reason behind it? Something is driving the need for you to want to drink. You need to understand what that is.

On the website under the section, “Medical Consequences” I have included several videos that explain the various medical conditions. Also, the section called, “Stages of Liver Disease” may be helpful.

May I ask please, are you in India by any chance. I only ask this as different countries have different approaches when it comes to alcohol-related liver disease. I don’t mean to pry, but am I right in assuming that you are male? The reason I ask this is that over here in the UK both the Punjabi and Sikh communities have problems with alcohol abuse, and these are normally addressed within their respective communities and not in hospitals.

Your final question is a hard one to answer as different people will have different symptoms and final issues. What l Can tell you is that death by alcohol abuse is a long, slow and painful way to go. Some people think that they will just fall asleep and never wake up. Death by alcohol abuse is preventable. So don’t give up. If a person was to go down this road, then the final condition may well be pneumonia as the liver is no longer able to help support the immune system, the body becomes weak and open to infection.

Alcohol is a poison. To put it bluntly, Alcohol is death. No alcohol is a chance of life. Only you can choose which road you want to go down. But life is never about just us, it’s about those we care about, and who care about us.

Don’t let the breweries and the distillers win. Be strong my friend. Fight this.

Richard

[Tverma in reply to Richard-Allen]

Yea m from india..n m a girl n thnk u so muach for giving ua time Liver-Lifestyle-Guru

[Tverma in reply to Tverma]

I actually want to know that if a person is saying he has alcoholic liver disease..how can i detect it accurately without going through his reports..or basically how can i examine it on the basis of symptoms and physical examination..Liver-Lifestyle-Guru

[Richard-Allen in reply to Tverma]

Wow, this is a hard question . I think it's safe to say that a person who has an alcohol problem normally would be in denial. Those who do finally admit to having a problem, don't like to openly admit to it. I'm going to send you a private message as I feel this is becoming personal and private.

[Tverma in reply to Richard-Allen]

Yea plz do let me know aabout it coz its really a major concern for me to knw about it cz i wanted to if the disease is actual or not.. i really wnt to examine it

[utep99]

Probably not as Cirrhosis causes low blood levels and anemia soif your

[Hidden]

Hi Tverma

In answer to your question re donating blood !

Firstly my following reply is based on working for the National Blood Transfusion Service in Birmingham for 2 years 45 years ago! Unfortunately I can only remember a small amount of the regulations that I used to discuss with donors before they were eligible to give blood!

If they had any of the following they were not allowed :

1. Being under weight

2: Taking Antibiotics

3: Taking Blood thinning Tablets

4: Taking Growth Hormones

5: Taking Acne medications

6: Taking Proriasis Medication

7 Taking Sclerosis Mefications

8: Having Hep B or C

9 Being Anemic

10 In some cases taking blood pressure tablets!

11! Having cirrhosis was also a no no back then but things may have changed.

The above are only a few of which I can remember!

I would recommend you give the National Blood Transfusion Service which is attached to the QE Hospital in Edgbaston Birmingham a call or you can contact there HQ in Bristol T 0300 123 23 23

I hope my brief breakdown was of some help!

Regards

Marietta

[jbal4l]

I asked my hepatologist this question at the begining of March 2020 and he looked something up (not sure what) and told me it was fine for me to give blood. I have been told I have cirrhosis based on a fibroscan only, I have no symptoms nor adverse blood test results.