Alcohol-Related End-Stage Liver Disease - Essay Example

"Alcohol-Related End-Stage Liver Disease" is a well-written example of a paper on the gastrointestinal system.

One of the common diseases caused by excessive alcohol consumption is liver damage. This means that often alcoholics are diagnosed with alcohol-related end-stage liver disease (ARESLD). This is an informed medical issue that several people ignore during their recreational activities of alcohol consumption until it is too late. At the same time, there is an unavoidable health-related liver complication that requires liver transport. Statistically, about half of the liver transplant is given to the alcoholics, yet so many other people since the medical approach used are the first come first served (Moss). This leaves several people who have played no part in harming their liver without liver transport. In this essay, we campaign for the change of the approach in giving the priorities to other people and letting the alcoholics have the last chance.

Other than the liver scarcity issues, there are other reasons why alcoholics should not be treated equally when it comes to a liver transplant. A liver transplant is a nonrenewable resource. For one to get a liver transplant, they require to get it from a donor. More so, once given out, it can be reused. Often the liver transplant is sourced from people who are dying or may not need it. More so unlike some of the other chronic illnesses like diabetes, which one can survive by receiving insulin shots, or chronic renal where one can survive on dialysis when one is diagnosed with end-stage liver disease, they have no chance of surviving (Moss). This shows the extreme need for a liver transplant. Besides, the number of liver donors does not equate to the number of patients. Therefore it is required that priority be given to people with ESLD that is not caused by alcohol.

Moreover, Compared to other behavior caused by chronic illness, ARESLD – Alcohol-Related End-Stage Liver disease takes about 50% of patients with ESLD (Moss). This is different from patients who require heart transplants due to smoking or poor diet. More so, alcoholics account for a small number of people who need the heart transplant yet are rejected for alcoholism—raising the question of why this should be different for a liver transplant. Lastly, the liver transplant involves the application of expensive technology, which means that millions of dollars are spent in the transplant process and the therapies that follow long after.

Over the years, people have argued that alcoholism is a disease, and therefore people suffer from ARESLD as a result of another illness (Moss). However, for one to suffer from ARESLD, they usually have taken large amounts of alcohol over a long period, which is probably ten to twenty years (Moss). This is ample time that one should have sought remedy for the problem like rehabilitation and therapy, which are cheaper and better.

Others may argue that this is discriminating against the alcoholics from receiving treatment. Some of the other diseases caused by self-habits like Diabetes II due to obesity are obligated to pay for their treatment (Moss). However, in the case of ARESLD, there are fewer donor organs, and since the problem is self-generated and priority should be given to those who have no hand in the cause of their ESLD.

Placing all these factors into consideration, I rest my case that for fairness in the health care matters that concern ESLD, alcoholics should not compete equally for liver transportation. Instead, priority should be given to patients with ESLD that is not alcohol-related.