19 year old's liver packs in

[Capt Pat]

At 19 years old lads this guy has found himself in an awful mess that it normally takes years to develop. So I assume he was underage drinking, who gave him or sold hom the booze i assume it was stupid adults. If he has underlying health conditions who was repsonsible for his well being, his parents, his doctors, his dentists, his pharmacists. All have a role to play in ensuring people are brought up the right way. I refuse to beleive that the guy just turned 18 and decided to drink his life away. I would imagine that a lot of the underlying damage was done in the 18 yeats befire he was an adult and eligible to vote and drink.

[deiseach]

He's probably been very unlucky. There's a vagrant on the Tramore Road who has been knocking back flagons of cider every day for the last 30 years and living rough for the last 20. You'd think his liver would be shot to pieces by now but he's still with us. That doesn't mean an exception should be made for him though. Hard cases make bad law.

[ardmhachaabu]

At 19 years old lads this guy has found himself in an awful mess that it normally takes years to develop. So I assume he was underage drinking, who gave him or sold hom the booze i assume it was stupid adults. If he has underlying health conditions who was repsonsible for his well being, his parents, his doctors, his dentists, his pharmacists. All have a role to play in ensuring people are brought up the right way. I refuse to beleive that the guy just turned 18 and decided to drink his life away. I would imagine that a lot of the underlying damage was done in the 18 yeats befire he was an adult and eligible to vote and drink.

What's your point?

If you are saying that he is entitled to jump the queue then you are well wrong.  The fella left his hospital bed to go to the nearest pub and ask for alcohol!  I don't care if it means he dies from liver failure, harsh and all as that might sound.  The list is there for a reason, surgeons/doctors have put the alcohol-free for 6 months stipulation in because they don't want potential donors to change their minds over cases like this!

[ONeill]

The grandmother repeated often that he was 'misguided'. That suggests he was given a loose lead growing up or was unmanageable. Nolan went down the mind-numbing 'let's make as many cry on air' - all pauses and dramatic questions. Some of the questions he asked the consultant last Thursday would have left you pulling your hair out (if you have any). Instead of casting a cold eye on the story until the facts were uncovered and aiming the discussion at a) underage/binge drinking in Ireland and b) the 6-month rule, he headed down the sympathy for an innocent and typical lad route. It was shite journalism and stank of tabloid sensationalism, and it's part of our bloody licence fee.

Lads are no mugs at 19. I have sympathy for the situation in that he veered down a road of self-abuse. I don't have much sympathy for the choices someone makes at 19. Listening to the da today, who made the original phonecall last week, I can understand if Nolan distances himself from the story. He has made a c**k out of himself.

However, this is a great opportunity to hit the schools now with drink-awareness initiatives. Not the 50 yr old preaching temperance but from young lads who have danced on the verge of oblivion at a young age.

[Tony Baloney]

The grandmother repeated often that he was 'misguided'. That suggests he was given a loose lead growing up or was unmanageable. Nolan went down the mind-numbing 'let's make as many cry on air' - all pauses and dramatic questions. Some of the questions he asked the consultant last Thursday would have left you pulling your hair out (if you have any). Instead of casting a cold eye on the story until the facts were uncovered and aiming the discussion at a) underage/binge drinking in Ireland and b) the 6-month rule, he headed down the sympathy for an innocent and typical lad route. It was shite journalism and stank of tabloid sensationalism, and it's part of our bloody licence fee.

Lads are no mugs at 19. I have sympathy for the situation in that he veered down a road of self-abuse. I don't have much sympathy for the choices someone makes at 19. Listening to the da today, who made the original phonecall last week, I can understand if Nolan distances himself from the story. He has made a c**k out of himself.

However, this is a great opportunity to hit the schools now with drink-awareness initiatives. Not the 50 yr old preaching temperance but from young lads who have danced on the verge of oblivion at a young age.

Would his gurney fit in a black hack over to wild West? You could book him in for a guest appearance next week!

[Capt Pat]

At 19 years old lads this guy has found himself in an awful mess that it normally takes years to develop. So I assume he was underage drinking, who gave him or sold hom the booze i assume it was stupid adults. If he has underlying health conditions who was repsonsible for his well being, his parents, his doctors, his dentists, his pharmacists. All have a role to play in ensuring people are brought up the right way. I refuse to beleive that the guy just turned 18 and decided to drink his life away. I would imagine that a lot of the underlying damage was done in the 18 yeats befire he was an adult and eligible to vote and drink.

What's your point?

If you are saying that he is entitled to jump the queue then you are well wrong.  The fella left his hospital bed to go to the nearest pub and ask for alcohol!  I don't care if it means he dies from liver failure, harsh and all as that might sound.  The list is there for a reason, surgeons/doctors have put the alcohol-free for 6 months stipulation in because they don't want potential donors to change their minds over cases like this!

My point is there is more that goes into the creation of a bad case like this kid than he get up one day and decided  to drink his liver away so he doesn't deserve a liver. I don't think the guy got himself into this mess on his own. It is different to a guy who at age 25 is earning a lot of  money and develops a bad drinking habit and 20 years later needs a new liver. Things go bad for people in life and I don't know the details of the case but I sincerely beleive that this kid has been let down by who or what I don't know, but I suspect by adults and beer companies who allow beer to fall into the hands of under ager drinkers, by medical professionals who carried out bad medicall work or gave out bad medicines or by his parents who maybe didn't bring the lad up right in certain ways in terms of making sure he had a good diet or whatever. I don't really know but I suspect factors like these are really what have brought this kid down to this point.


Now the 6 month rule I feel is a good one for the sort of typical hard cases that come into hospital at about age 45 with 20 years of drinking done as an adult. I think that is why the rule was brought in. I do not think it should apply to kids. everone deserves a shot in life I don't think this kid has had one to be honest.

You mentioned "jump the queue", the point is he is not in the queue. I think he should be allowed in the queue that is all.

[tyrone girl]

Not sure where i stand on this whole issue to be honest. Part of me is thinking its a 19 year old lad with possibly a future ahead of him , why should he have to wait 6 months on a liver, then the other part of me thinks well there are people waiting months on livers and why should be rush him over first because he is young.
I think it goes way beyond that, each individual case is different and there are so many variables and different things to be taken into account, who makes that judgement? Whos qualified to make that judgement? i know doctors are qualified in all things medical but in the ethics of the whole thing i just dont know.
I initially thought the lad had underlying problems and that it was a bad binge gone wrong, now there are more things coming to light. The lad seems to have a problem and if alcoholism is the underlying factor here then i have pure pity for all involved. Sad situation all round

[Capt Pat]

I would think a lot of people waiting on livers have messed themselves up through drinking or bad lifestyle choices made as an adult. This 19 year olds choices some of them may have been made by someone not old enough to vote. His life style should not be held accountable up to the same high standard as a middle aged person in my opinion.

[Tony Baloney]

I would think a lot of people waiting on livers have messed themselves up through drinking or bad lifestyle choices made as an adult. This 19 year olds choices some of them may have been made by someone not old enough to vote. His life style should not be held accountable up to the same high standard as a middle aged person in my opinion.

Victim culture alive and well in Ireland. That is like the crap you hear from teenage girls who got up the duff because they didn't think you could get pregnant standing up. It's society's fault.

This young fella is obviously an alcoholic at a young age, however I'm sure he has been big enough for several years to understand where his chosen path was taking him.

There is a lady in our work who has liver cancer. She has young children and wouldn't be a heavy drinker. If push came to shove should this fella get the transplant thru the use of a media campaign and potentially go on to abuse the gift? Should a middle class, mother of four get preference over this working class fella with alcoholic tendencies?

I'm glad those decisions aren't mine.

[Capt Pat]

I don't know what you mean by victime culture, expand if you want, as far as I am concerned if someone has been victimised they should scream and shout about it all they want to help stop more people being victimised. To a lot of people and myself what it boils down to is people taking responsibility for their actions. However this does not apply to younger people, children, teenagers etc as it does to older people say those 25 and over. Like I outlined above when you are young so much of the way you are is about the things others have done for you and to you and the way they have treated you. When you are older and an emancipated adult your fortunes are more or less in your own hands but not completely. I have heard the lads father has been brought into this. The lad is not his father, people implying that someones father wasn't the best therefroe his son shouldn't get a liver is not fair. Don't say you wern't implying this because lobbing that information into the middle of a debate like this has that effect.

[Puckoon]

SAd story on a number of levels. The parents must shoulder some blame here in that their 19 year old has ended up in such a pickle (no pun).

To the people who think he needs a second chance based on his age, where does the age cease to be a factor? 20? 21? 22?

To the eejit who thinks the 6 month rule is in place to prevent donors from changing their minds, where'd you get that nugget of information from?
That rule is in place to show that a liver won't be wasted on someone who is unable to remain alcohol free for a period of time as short as six months.

The kid is obviously in serious trouble, but while his liver is the most obvious one, it's not the only issue.
I don't think he'll get a liver in time. End stage liver disease is a slippery slope.

[DuffleKing]

to me the going for a pint thing sounds like an act of desperation in a moment of the awful truth dawning on him and maybe a sort of "fcuk this, if i'm condemned so be it.." effort

[J70]

Where the fcuk are this fella's relatives? Can none of them step up and be a living donor?

[Puckoon]

J are you on the beer?

You can't be a living liver donor...

[thebigfella]

J are you on the beer?

You can't be a living liver donor...

You can, is more common where parents of young children can donate a bit of their liver to replace their child's diseased one. The liver can actually regenerate itself in a relatively short period of time.