It was about a year ago that doctors at St. Michael’s Hospital told 29-year-old Patrick Terry he’d better stop drinking. He didn’t, and told his mom he doesn’t even remember that happened. But, as he now lies in Toronto General Hospital with days or months to live, that moment might be what’s keeping Terry from receiving a new liver that could save his life, despite Ontario eliminating a six-month sobriety requirement under the province’s policies on alcohol use and transplants.Terry’s case sheds light on the plight of patients with alcohol-associated liver disease who are still hitting roadblocks to get a spot on the liver transplant list.The sobriety requirement was eliminated in Ontario in 2018 for a three-year testing period, meaning anyone with alcohol-associated liver disease can be assessed as a liver transplant candidate regardless of when they had their last drink. But guidelines from the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the province’s organ and tissue donation agency, say patients can be ruled out if there’s evidence they won’t follow the advice of health professionals, along with a host of other criteria they must meet.Terry’s mother, Margaret Terry, said she was told by doctors that the fact he had been warned to stop drinking and at one point had been referred to a rehab program means he doesn’t qualify. She said she wants the transplant guidelines to make room for an exception, saying because he’s so young he deserves a chance to change his life.“Patrick’s not getting a second chance,” his mother said. “The Ministry (of Health’s) rules are prejudicial against alcoholics and all mental health. The kind of people who are drinking are drinking for a reason, because they’re depressed or it’s in their genes.” Terry was admitted to hospital in July with alcoholic hepatitis, and though he hasn’t had alcohol since then, his fail ...
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