Ontario looks at ending rule against alcohol for transplants

A contentious requirement that would-be liver transplant recipients stay away from alcohol for six months could be scrapped, according to a new recommendation before the agency that runs Ontario's organ transplant system.

In a letter announcing the proposed change, a lawyer for the Trillium Gift of Life Network said the recommendation comes from a committee overseeing a still-running three-year pilot project.

The recommendation, which comes amid two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the six-month abstinence rule, is subject to further levels of approval, but appears likely to be adopted in mid-November, the letter says.

“As such, the constitutionality of the six-month abstinence requirement as currently drafted in the listing criteria may become moot,” it says.

According to draft eligibility criteria now under consideration, patients with alcohol-associated liver disease — ALD — could be considered for liver transplantation.

“These patients must be carefully assessed for higher risk of return to problematic alcohol use to help ensure optimal outcomes in addition to meeting standard transplant listing and contraindication criteria,” the draft says.

A lawyer for the mother of a now-deceased man called the recommendation to do away with the mandatory six-month abstinence a huge and welcome step.

“This is a super-positive development,” Alyssa Tomkins said. “All that this is doing is really bringing Ontario into line with other provinces.”