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.
I’ve known entirely too many alcoholics that have had too many wake-up and come-to-Jesus moments, only to go back to drinking as soon as the immediate crisis is over. Change only comes when the alcoholic wants to change for their own reasons, not due to external factors.
Livers are a limited resource. Wasting a donor’s liver on a person that usis unlikely to stop drinking–despite their protestations–means that another person doesn’t get one. It may seem like a cruel calculus, but it’s the only reasonable way to ration a scarce resource. It doesn’t matter if alcoholism is a disease, or you think that it’s a moral failing; the end result is the same.
This was my initial opinion until I read the whole article.
“I got my blood tested, I had MRI scans, I had a CT scan, I had ultrasound and blood compatibility test with her. I was a match,” said Allan.
Transplant guidelines in Ontario and much of Canada require patients with ALD to first qualify for a deceased donor liver. If they don’t meet that criteria, they aren’t considered for a living liver transplant, even if one is available.
Her partner was a willing, compatible donor, wanted to give her his liver and was prevented from doing so. So yes, this is a cruel take.
As someone else already pointed out, if the transplant from the living donor failed or had complications, now you have two people that need livers. It puts a healthy person at risk for a very low chance of a positive outcome. If they were paying out of their own pocket, then I’d say sure, go ahead, blow your own money on it, risk your own life and health. But they aren’t.
I don’t know enough to be able to answer your question.
However, even if you did find a country you could do this in, you’d have to deal with the cost and time required to travel there, consult with the local doctors, get the surgery scheduled, perform the surgery, and remain for post-op care - all of which would be likely out of their own pocket.
Canada has universal single payer health care system and I have no idea how they deal with medical procedures done outside the country. I highly doubt they would cover unless they were on private insurance that allowed it.
Not everyone has the means to do what you suggest unfortunately.
Healthcare is for profit. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, consumables, hospitalization, antibiotics, follow ups all get charged to OHIP at a profit for the healthcare provider.
If we had actual public healthcare, where hospitals and doctors are not private businesses, maybe we could spend more mony on treatment and rehabilitation for problem cases.
IIRC, there are ongoing experiments with organs are being grown in cloned animals; the animal is slaughtered, and the organ is harvested. Maybe someday they’ll be more readily available and renewable than they are now.
…At least for the wealthy that can afford to have farms of cloned animals.
It will always be insane to me that today’s rich people would rather be less wealthy as long as they are more wealthy than everyone else as opposed to being even more wealthy with everyone else if we all just worked together and had the freedom to create and be innovative.
I’ve known entirely too many alcoholics that have had too many wake-up and come-to-Jesus moments, only to go back to drinking as soon as the immediate crisis is over. Change only comes when the alcoholic wants to change for their own reasons, not due to external factors.
Livers are a limited resource. Wasting a donor’s liver on a person that
usis unlikely to stop drinking–despite their protestations–means that another person doesn’t get one. It may seem like a cruel calculus, but it’s the only reasonable way to ration a scarce resource. It doesn’t matter if alcoholism is a disease, or you think that it’s a moral failing; the end result is the same.This was my initial opinion until I read the whole article.
Her partner was a willing, compatible donor, wanted to give her his liver and was prevented from doing so. So yes, this is a cruel take.
As someone else already pointed out, if the transplant from the living donor failed or had complications, now you have two people that need livers. It puts a healthy person at risk for a very low chance of a positive outcome. If they were paying out of their own pocket, then I’d say sure, go ahead, blow your own money on it, risk your own life and health. But they aren’t.
Question: are there any countries where this is allowed? Would they have been able to go abroad and do this operation?
I don’t know enough to be able to answer your question.
However, even if you did find a country you could do this in, you’d have to deal with the cost and time required to travel there, consult with the local doctors, get the surgery scheduled, perform the surgery, and remain for post-op care - all of which would be likely out of their own pocket.
Canada has universal single payer health care system and I have no idea how they deal with medical procedures done outside the country. I highly doubt they would cover unless they were on private insurance that allowed it.
Not everyone has the means to do what you suggest unfortunately.
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Healthcare is for profit. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, consumables, hospitalization, antibiotics, follow ups all get charged to OHIP at a profit for the healthcare provider.
If we had actual public healthcare, where hospitals and doctors are not private businesses, maybe we could spend more mony on treatment and rehabilitation for problem cases.
i think they’d fall under renewable resource
I don’t think renewable excludes it from being limited.
It was a dumb joke and you’re right
Hey, I appreciate your candor and humility. Good on you.
IIRC, there are ongoing experiments with organs are being grown in cloned animals; the animal is slaughtered, and the organ is harvested. Maybe someday they’ll be more readily available and renewable than they are now.
…At least for the wealthy that can afford to have farms of cloned animals.
It will always be insane to me that today’s rich people would rather be less wealthy as long as they are more wealthy than everyone else as opposed to being even more wealthy with everyone else if we all just worked together and had the freedom to create and be innovative.
Same, it actually astonishes me
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