Re:Two weeks later David Bennett is alive, his pig’s heart b...
by mlyle on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @12:06AM
(#30081970)
That's not a moral judgment: that's a judgment about whether you're likely to not wreck the new organ and have a good outcome.
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Re:Two weeks later David Bennett is alive, his pig’s heart b...
by _delirium on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @12:38AM
(#30082176)
That's a common rationalization for the moral judgment, but without evidence. "Recent studies have shown similar survival rates among individuals who undergo LT [liver transplant] for ALD [alcoholic liver disease] and those who undergo LT for other chronic causes of end-stage liver disease." [1]
Re:Two weeks later David Bennett is alive, his pig’s heart b...
by mlyle on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @12:50AM
(#30082253)
As your link says, there's an association between sobriety and liver transplant outcome.
As your link also says, in most areas, you can receive a liver for ALD; there's just a 6 month sobriety rule.
So we know:
- 6 months of sobriety increase odds of ongoing subsequent sobriety
- Sobriety improves LT transplant outcomes.
Many believe, without strong numerical evidence either way:
- 6 months of sobriety before procedure improves outcome of LT transplantation.
Fewer believe:
- A 6 month sobriety requirement is an unnecessary impediment to transplantation.
Your paper says:
"An interval of sobriety prior to LT is very desirable from a medical point of view. Abstinence may markedly improve liver function"
i.e. in many cases, if people could stop drinking, they might not even need the liver!