Questions are being raised about the case of a 36-year-old Ontario woman who died of liver failure after she was rejected for a life-saving liver transplant after a medical review highlighted her prior alcohol use.
There are more people who need transplants than there are organs, so the medical profession has to make decisions about who to deny. This was a reasonable decision, in my opinion.
In Canada, drinking more than 3 drinks per week is medically considered “high alcohol use” for a woman… (6 for a man). This limit keeps getting lower year after year
If this can prevent you from getting organ transplants, then it encourages lying to your medical doctor about your current habits… That lady was not considered alcoholic, she just used alcohol in greater amount than the limit considered acceptable by doctors.
Latest stats show that almost 4 out of 5 people has exceeds that limit at some point in their life. This woman died only because she was honest with her doctor about her alcohol use.
(Note that the article says her partner was a compatible donor but the system refused to accept him because she used alcohol. It’s not about lacking donors.)
This woman died only because she was honest with her doctor about her alcohol use
No, and it even says so in the article
She quit about 5 months before her death when transplants require 6-12 months of sobriety. She was drinking regularly with the fucked up liver before that diagnosis, and liver damage isn’t something that just suddenly appears.
She kept drinking despite what would have been intense cramping pain and a slow death, thats why she was denied (addiction) and ultimately died
Note that the article says her partner was a compatible donor but the system refused to accept him because she used alcohol
And as the article also says it’s incredibly dangerous for someone to get a live-donor transplant when they’re in bad shape like she was, as failure of that means they’ll need to let her die on-table or transplant a good dead one into her (which she was denied for, due to her drinking)
It’s sad, but this woman died to alcohol abuse, pure and simple
That’s a lot of vague statements you’ve repeated from the article. What’s drinking “regularly” (this was before the diagnosis as you’ve stated)? “She kept drinking”, what does that mean? How much alcohol was she consuming? Did she have a sip of her friends wine and was honest about it so was rejected?
as the article also says it’s incredibly dangerous for someone to get a live-donor transplant when they’re in bad shape like she was, as failure of that means they’ll need to let her die on-table or transplant a good dead one into her
Where does it say that? You’ve completely twisted the statements.
“On the off chance their (living) liver doesn’t work, they urgently get listed for a deceased donor,” said Jayakumar. "We need to make sure that everyone who is a candidate for a living donor is also a candidate for a donor graft as well, " she added.
Huska’s time at the Oakville hospital likely cost over $450,000 - ($3,592 per day for ICU care) with an additional 61 days in a ward bed which likely cost about $1,200 a day, A liver transplant in Ontario is pegged at about $71,000 to $100,000 in Ontario based on data from 2019.
In 2021, 15.6 per cent of Canadians over 12 engaged in heavy drinking – a term defined as five or more drinks for males, or over four for females, on one occasion at least once per month in the past year.
Heavy drinking is drinking ONCE per month in the past year. If this is based off of before her diagnosis, you’re gonna exclude like 80% of the working population who actually does go out for drinks or private occasions (unless they just lie which I guess they should’ve in this situation). Between the price of keeping them alive but not fixing the problem and there being no “review” process for decisions, I would categorize this as a bad system that allowed a preventable death from an alcohol related disease to continue.
I’m guessing you can stop at any time if you want to? I’ve known older healthcare professionals that have approved and even encouraged one drink a night, but our understanding of the effects of drinking has evolved. I doubt doctors keeping up with the science would encourage it at this point. It would be like having someone come in that’s overweight. It doesn’t mean you’re unhealthy now, but it may be a factor that needs to be kept in check and working on it could prevent issues in the future.
Yes I can and have stopped. I drink 2-5 times a week and it’s one 40 proof 1oz (not a shot 1.5oz) over rocks with a bit of soda. Same or less than a beer.
This isn’t two shots neat daily or a six pack of beer. Sometimes I go a week without. Other times it’s 5 times a week.
Just do what I do and put it in that deep cupboard above the fridge. Then forget about it for literal years by mistake. It’s doing wonders for my health. Just wish I could do a version of that for my bad sleep schedule.
I’d be inclined to agree, except that her partner wanted to donate HIS liver and was prohibited from doing so as a living donation due to the alcohol use determination.
There are more people who need transplants than there are organs, so the medical profession has to make decisions about who to deny. This was a reasonable decision, in my opinion.
In Canada, drinking more than 3 drinks per week is medically considered “high alcohol use” for a woman… (6 for a man). This limit keeps getting lower year after year
If this can prevent you from getting organ transplants, then it encourages lying to your medical doctor about your current habits… That lady was not considered alcoholic, she just used alcohol in greater amount than the limit considered acceptable by doctors.
Latest stats show that almost 4 out of 5 people has exceeds that limit at some point in their life. This woman died only because she was honest with her doctor about her alcohol use. (Note that the article says her partner was a compatible donor but the system refused to accept him because she used alcohol. It’s not about lacking donors.)
No, and it even says so in the article
She quit about 5 months before her death when transplants require 6-12 months of sobriety. She was drinking regularly with the fucked up liver before that diagnosis, and liver damage isn’t something that just suddenly appears.
She kept drinking despite what would have been intense cramping pain and a slow death, thats why she was denied (addiction) and ultimately died
And as the article also says it’s incredibly dangerous for someone to get a live-donor transplant when they’re in bad shape like she was, as failure of that means they’ll need to let her die on-table or transplant a good dead one into her (which she was denied for, due to her drinking)
It’s sad, but this woman died to alcohol abuse, pure and simple
That’s a lot of vague statements you’ve repeated from the article. What’s drinking “regularly” (this was before the diagnosis as you’ve stated)? “She kept drinking”, what does that mean? How much alcohol was she consuming? Did she have a sip of her friends wine and was honest about it so was rejected?
Where does it say that? You’ve completely twisted the statements.
Huska’s time at the Oakville hospital likely cost over $450,000 - ($3,592 per day for ICU care) with an additional 61 days in a ward bed which likely cost about $1,200 a day, A liver transplant in Ontario is pegged at about $71,000 to $100,000 in Ontario based on data from 2019.
Heavy drinking is drinking ONCE per month in the past year. If this is based off of before her diagnosis, you’re gonna exclude like 80% of the working population who actually does go out for drinks or private occasions (unless they just lie which I guess they should’ve in this situation). Between the price of keeping them alive but not fixing the problem and there being no “review” process for decisions, I would categorize this as a bad system that allowed a preventable death from an alcohol related disease to continue.
That’s total bullshit. As a IT professional I have a nightly drink after work for self medication. Never two. Just one.
I’m guessing you can stop at any time if you want to? I’ve known older healthcare professionals that have approved and even encouraged one drink a night, but our understanding of the effects of drinking has evolved. I doubt doctors keeping up with the science would encourage it at this point. It would be like having someone come in that’s overweight. It doesn’t mean you’re unhealthy now, but it may be a factor that needs to be kept in check and working on it could prevent issues in the future.
Yes I can and have stopped. I drink 2-5 times a week and it’s one 40 proof 1oz (not a shot 1.5oz) over rocks with a bit of soda. Same or less than a beer.
This isn’t two shots neat daily or a six pack of beer. Sometimes I go a week without. Other times it’s 5 times a week.
Just do what I do and put it in that deep cupboard above the fridge. Then forget about it for literal years by mistake. It’s doing wonders for my health. Just wish I could do a version of that for my bad sleep schedule.
I’d be inclined to agree, except that her partner wanted to donate HIS liver and was prohibited from doing so as a living donation due to the alcohol use determination.