Faster Liver Transplants for Alcoholics?

A new study questions the need to make alcoholics who need a liver transplant wait until they have been sober for 6 months. That’s the policy most transplant centers follow. The new study included 26 carefully chosen patients. All were alcoholics with severe hepatitis. Drug treatment was not helping them. They pledged to quit drinking and had good support from family or friends. They were given transplants as soon as livers were available. Six months later, 77% were still alive. In a comparison group that did not get transplants, only 23% were alive. Researchers kept track of people for 2 to 3 years. In that time, only 3 of the 26 had started drinking again. Among alcoholics who meet the 6-month sobriety rule, about 30% typically start drinking again. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it November 10.