cappie Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 A 22-year-old British man who became an alcoholic as a teenager has died after doctors refused to give him a liver transplant. Gary Reinbach began binge drinking when he was just 13 and ended up with severe cirrhosis of the liver. He was admitted to a London hospital in May but died after doctors refused to give him a liver transplant amid fears he would not stay sober for six months after the operation. Reinbach's distraught mother Madeline Reinbach said her son had been in great pain and scared before his life support machine was turned off on Sunday. "When Gary was told how ill he was and how long he had left, I just held him and we both cried," she told the Daily Mirror newspaper in Britain on Tuesday. "Gary wanted to live so badly - he did everything he could to co-operate with the doctors. "They told him to stop smoking and he did. They told him to stay in bed and he did. "All he wanted to do was prove that he was serious, and that he wouldn't drink again. "But he never had the chance to prove himself properly because he was too fragile to be sent home. "He couldn't go against the doctors, but because of that he couldn't have the second chance he wanted so much." Reinbach was one of the youngest people in Britain to die of advanced cirrhosis brought on by binge drinking. His mother said her son began drinking bottles of cheap cider with his mates while skipping school. His habit got worse when he left school aged 17 and began drinking up to eight cans of beer plus a bottle of vodka or half a bottle of whisky and cans of cider. The NHS Blood and Transplant service said in a statement Reinbach's case highlighted the dilemma faced by doctors because of a shortage of donated organs. "They have to make tough decisions about who is going to get the benefit and who is going to take best care of this precious gift," the NHS said. [url="http://www.smh.com.au/world/alcoholic-dies-after-doctors-refuse-liver-transplant-20090722-dsar.html"]http://www.smh.com.au/world/alcoholic-dies...90722-dsar.html[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurrexi Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) Those doctors are jerks. I think that anyone should be able to get whatever medical treatment he would like if he has the cash (obviously excluding immoral procedures such as abortions). Edited July 22, 2009 by Resurrexi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1927159' date='Jul 21 2009, 08:19 PM']Those doctors are jerks. I think that anyone should be able to get whatever medical treatment he would like if he has the cash (obviously excluding immoral procedures such as abortions).[/quote] It's a tragic situation, indeed. However, they aren't entirely unjustified, in many cases. There are a limited amount of kidneys, livers, hearts, etc. out there. If they were to give them to someone who was just going to go out and ruin it by smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and other things that are destructive to those fil[b][/b]ter-oriented organs, it wouldn't be fair to those who would actually do what they could to preserve them. Plus, you've got to realize that the health system in the UK is a world different from here in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 They do it because there is a shortage of organs. They have to make God-like decisions everyday about who gets to live and who has to die. It is done in the US too. I'm surprised his family wasn't willing to try a partial liver transplant where a living donor give a portion of their liver to a loved one. 20 people die every day in the US waiting for an organ. If you want to do something about it, fill out your organ donor card, and talk to your family about your wishes to be a donor because often even with a donor card, they won't take them if your family doesn't agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessgianna Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I am thinking about doing that. When i get my license. Still praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Hardly any sympathy for this guy. Give the liver to someone who deserves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Kitty' post='1927194' date='Jul 21 2009, 09:04 PM']Hardly any sympathy for this guy. Give the liver to someone who deserves it.[/quote] Wow, did you not read the article at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='USAirwaysIHS' post='1927206' date='Jul 21 2009, 09:10 PM']Wow, did you not read the article at all?[/quote] Yes, I read it this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Kitty' post='1927212' date='Jul 21 2009, 09:13 PM']Yes, I read it this morning.[/quote] [quote name='cappie' post='1927156' date='Jul 21 2009, 08:18 PM']Gary Reinbach began binge drinking when he was just 13 and ended up with severe cirrhosis of the liver. ...died after doctors refused to give him a liver transplant amid [b]fears[/b] he would not stay sober for six months after the operation. ... "Gary wanted to live so badly - he did everything he could to co-operate with the doctors. "They told him to stop smoking and he did. They told him to stay in bed and he did. "All he wanted to do was prove that he was serious, and that he wouldn't drink again. "But he never had the chance to prove himself properly because he was too fragile to be sent home. "He couldn't go against the doctors, but because of that he couldn't have the second chance he wanted so much."[/quote] Kids do dumb things. Some dumb things that are more or less innocuous, some dumb things that kill them right away, and some dumb things that kill them over time. This poor kid did something that he got addicted to, and it eventually killed him. It doesn't say when he started attempting to give it up, but it says he eventually did. The thing is that he never got a chance to prove his sincerity. I bolded fears because it's rather important to the story - they denied a kid a second chance on his life based upon on fears. I'm not sure if I would have denied or approved the transplant on him. I can tell you that I don't envy the doctors who did have to make that decision. Perhaps this condition/fate was brought on in part or even in full by the kid, but again, that's what he was - a [u]kid[/u]. To say you feel no sympathy at all for the poor fellow seems a bit cold. Edited July 22, 2009 by USAirwaysIHS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1927159' date='Jul 21 2009, 08:19 PM']Those doctors are jerks. I think that anyone should be able to get whatever medical treatment he would like if he has the cash (obviously excluding immoral procedures such as abortions).[/quote] Whaaaaaa? Do you think those doctors stood over his bed chanting, "haha... we have a liver that's a perfect match for you, but we ain't gonna give it to ya... haha... that'll teach you to drink, you lush!" Uh... I'm going to go with, "no, they didn't, Bob." They have to make life and death decisions every day. Unfortunately, they only have so many livers. They have to give it to the person who they think will be the most successful recipient. They either did not have a match for this man or they had to make a choice. It's sad, but that's how it happens. It doesn't make the doctors jerks. Eta: As Catherine pointed out, the article said nothing about a living donor being willing but the doctors being unwilling... that would be a different story. Maybe even his family members were not willing to put their health at risk for a potential transplant failure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) [quote][i]"They have to make tough decisions about who is going to get the benefit and who is going to take best care of this precious gift," the NHS said.[/i][/quote] This is the bottom line here. Would you approve a liver transplant for a binge-drinking alcoholic who chose that lifestyle, or would you approve a transplant for a person who suffered liver failure through no fault of their own? It's like giving a chain smoker a new pair of lungs. Edited July 22, 2009 by Kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachael Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I have to say, I would not want to be those doctors in that position, for it is certainly a tough decision to make. It is a fine line to step over either way...those doctors aren't not jerks for making the decision that they did. They felt that he was too much of a risk for past pattern of addiction. However, to hold no sympathy for him for his past actions, even though he gave his addictions is simply a bit cruel in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Vega Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 [quote name='Kitty' post='1927233' date='Jul 21 2009, 08:26 PM']This is the bottom line here. Would you approve a liver transplant for a binge-drinking alcoholic who chose that lifestyle, or would you approve a transplant for a person who suffered liver failure through no fault of their own? It's like giving a chain smoker a new pair of lungs.[/quote] Yes, I realize how candidates are chosen. However, there are smokers who are given new lungs, addicts new livers, and so on. As the article said, he never had a chance to show that his intentions were genuine. And with a 20-some-year-old, that's a shame. It's not about not giving someone a new organ if he destroyed it himself. Perhaps he didn't deserve it and would have gone to his old habits and ruined it after all. A young life was taken, even if it was through his own stupidity (or perhaps, more accurately, youthful ignorance), and that is something to feel at least a bit of sympathy for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle_eye222001 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 One of those decisions that will meet criticism either way. Most decisions in life are not the difference between life and death. Difficult and sad when it comes to that. ---------------- Now playing: [url="http://www.foxytunes.com/artist/john+powell/track/the+apartment"]John Powell - The Apartment[/url] via [url="http://www.foxytunes.com/signatunes/"]FoxyTunes[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 The decision was understandable. But I have to wonder if it was ethical. I would be very interested to know if the Church has ever addressed a situation like this. Is it not the ethical thing to try to save someone's life in a medical procedure when at all possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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