WEBVTT

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Liver News.

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Livers, we've all got one.

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Just sitting there,
filtering toxins out of your blood,

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but with liver disease being the
5th big killer in England and Wales,

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there's a pretty big chance, that
one day, you might need a new one.

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I'd hope that I'd get a transplant.

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I would like a transplant
if I needed one.

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Unfortunately, it's not that easy.

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In December 1997,

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180 people in the UK
were waiting on liver transplants,

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compared with 325 in the
same month last year.

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Between the year 2000 and 2005,

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roughly 1 in 6 livers were given
to people with liver disease

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caused by alcohol use
and it's on the rise.

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Doctors have the right to
refuse transplants to people

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who have no intention of
stopping heavy drinking.

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Is this right?

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I think that's difficult and
I can see why the doctors

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would maybe not want
to give somebody

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who had destroyed their liver
through alcoholism, a new liver,

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because he might continue
to destroy it afterwards.

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Everybody deserves a second chance.

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So how much do you drink a week?

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I haven't drunk anything
in the last week.

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Yeah, I do sometimes drink over
the RDA of alcohol.

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I haven't drunk anything the
last week or for my life.

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According to Alcohol Concern, in 2006,
40% of men and 33% of women

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had drunk more than the
recommended number of units

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on at least one day a week.

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Should we be held
collectively accountable

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for individuals who abuse alcohol?

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Where should we draw the line?

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Will we refuse people
heart transplants

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for eating too much
salt or fatty food?

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Alcohol's legal and people are
always going to misuse it.

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I think always.
Always have, always will,

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and I still do think we should
probably collectively pay for that,

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just the same as lots of people like to
play sports and have sports injuries

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and we collectively pay for that.

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You could stop people playing sports.

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People should be in some ways responsible
for how they treat their health,

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and be aware of the consequences,

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but then, if that's how you
choose to live your life

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then that's how you choose
to live your life?

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I think really, it should depend
upon a person's ability to change,

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if someone has no
intention of changing,

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then perhaps they do have
to bear the consequences.