Which of these patients should get a liver transplant?

People with liver failure and cirrhosis die every year because there are not enough livers available. Who should receive the treasured life-saving organ? There is an organ allocation system in place, which has evolved over time, which ranks patients who need liver transplants. Without such a system, there would be confusion and chaos. How can we fairly determine who should receive the next available liver? What criteria should move a candidate toward the head of the line? Age? Medical diagnoses? Insurance coverage? Employment status? Worth to society? Criminal record? Consider the following six hypothetical examples of patients who need a liver transplant to survive. How would you rank them? Would those toward the bottom of your list agree with your determination? A 50-year-old unemployed poet is an alcoholic. He has been sober for one year. His physicians believe he will not survive another year without a transplant. A 62-year-old prisoner has end-stage liver disease from hepatitis C, contracted from prior intravenous drug use. He has been showing serious medical deterioration and his physician is concerned that his demise approaches unless he undergoes a liver transplant. He will be incarcerated for life. He is taking college classes pursuing an undergraduate degree. A 45-year-old piano teacher has a malignant liver lesion. Her physicians have advised a liver transplant. Although the survival rate for a liver cancer transplant is reasonable, it is lower than for sober alco...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Gastroenterology Source Type: blogs