Liver transplant policy is reasonable

Re Race against time, Sept. 27

I would like to offer the other side of the liver transplant story.

In 2008, my brother was dying of alcohol-related liver failure. Similar to Mr. Gallant, he was very sick, landing in the ICU many times before being referred to the Trillium program for transplant assessment. The cadaveric transplant wait list is very long and many die waiting on this list. We were advised to find a family member who would donate. We were lucky that of his three sisters, I was a perfect match for a living related liver donation. He survived the six-month alcohol free period and he had a successful liver transplant nine years ago.

I was told at the time of the transplant that a large percentage of the alcoholic recipients drink again. They were right. This is an addiction that is very powerful. He is drinking heavily again. I feel betrayed and sad.

This is not a benign surgery for the donor. You take a healthy person and put them at great peril putting them through a major surgery. There is a long recovery period that is rarely complication-free. I understood the risk and didn’t hesitate for a minute — but it was a very hard time for my family as we put a lot on the line.

The Trillium program has it right — I am sorry that some will die waiting for a transplant (a sad reality for any person waiting for a new organ).

It is very sad to see a good organ, transplanted at great risk, challenged again by the recipient going back to their old ways.

I wish Mr. Gallant good luck with his health, but I don’t think that these prerequisites are unreasonable.

Louise Taylor, Burlington