GARETH ANDERSON (19), who suffered liver failure after a weekend drinking binge, was transferred from the Ulster Hospital in Belfast last night to King’s College Hospital in London for “full assessment and management” of his condition.
Mr Anderson, whom his doctors have said has only a short time to live if he does not receive a liver transplant, was last night admitted to the specialist liver unit of King’s College Hospital, where the management of his condition can be “closely monitored”.
The transfer happened after a frenetic day of activity yesterday in which his father Brian Anderson continued his campaign to have his son put on a waiting list for a liver transplant that has the potential to save his life.
He was supported in this campaign by Prof Roger Williams, who oversaw the liver transplant for George Best in England in 2002.
Mr Anderson said earlier yesterday that he was also planning to seek a judicial review to try to have his critically ill son put on a waiting list for a liver transplant
Gareth Anderson was admitted to the Ulster Hospital in east Belfast on August 2nd with liver failure after a weekend of heavy drinking with his friends.
King’s College Hospital said there was no possibility of it carrying out a liver transplant for Gareth until he had demonstrated that he was six months free of alcohol, which is a UK-wide protocol.
His father, however, said that this was unfair as he was caught in a catch-22 situation where it was virtually certain that Gareth could not survive that long.
His son’s doctors told Mr Anderson that without a liver transplant, he had “just three weeks to live”.
Mr Anderson argued that an exception should be made to the six-months rule as his son was not an alcoholic, was not a constant drinker and that his liver collapsed from a binge rather than after years of persistent drinking, as tended to be the case with alcoholics who suffered liver failure.
The surprise development of Gareth Anderson’s transfer came after a day of contacts involving the North’s Minister for Health Michael McGimpsey, the Ulster Hospital and King’s College in London.
Yesterday evening each of them issued statements saying that Mr Anderson was to be transferred to King’s College Hospital last night.
The King’s College Hospital spokesman said it was “important to make clear that the patient is not being transferred to King’s for liver transplant surgery”.
His Ulster Hospital doctor, Dr Tony Tham, was in regular contact with King’s College yesterday ahead of the transfer of Mr Anderson.
“This is a positive development in the ongoing management of his condition,” said Dr Tham. “However, the national rule that patients must be alcohol-free for six months before they can be considered for transplant remains in place,” he added.
It remains unclear whether a suitable liver can be found for Mr Anderson.
Prof Roger Williams, who was George Best’s doctor at the time of his liver transplant in 2002 and at his death in 2005, said there should be exceptions to the UK- wide rule.
"No patient with acute liver failure from an alcoholic binge is going to survive six months," Prof Williams told BBC Radio Ulster's Stephen Nolan Showyesterday.
“So, he’s going to be dead and a young patient, in my view, does have some priority. But the rule is there but it is a guideline. In other parts of the world, the patient you have in Northern Ireland would be transplanted,” he added.
Prof Williams said the rule was useful regarding chronic alcoholics to test how strong they were in terms of abstaining from alcohol.
“But it’s not a perfect guide. It is only one way of looking at the problem. The rule is not appropriate for acute liver failure from alcohol in a young person like this,” he said.