22-Year-Old Alcoholic Dies of Liver Cirrhosis

A 22-year-old alcoholic died of liver cirrhosis after being refused a liver transplant because he was too ill to leave the hospital or prove he could stay sober. Gary Reinbach of Dagenham, Essex, had been binge drinking since he was 13 but was only taken to the hospital with liver problems 10 weeks ago.

His mother Madeline Hanshaw, 44, said Gary was desperate to recover but deteriorated quickly. She told the Evening Standard: “These rules are really unfair. I’m not saying you should give a transplant to someone who is in and out of the hospital all the time and keeps damaging themselves, but just for people like Gary, who made a mistake and never got a second chance.”

Gary’s family said he started drinking at age 11 when his parents split up and drank heavily from the age of 13. He had recently tried to quit drinking and had signed up for the support group Alcoholics Anonymous just weeks before he was taken to the hospital.

His brother Luke, 18, said, “They never gave him the chance to show he could change.” Gary died at University College Hospital in London. A hospital spokeswoman said, “Our sympathies are with his family at this time.”

According to an article on Sky.com, the campaign group Alcohol Concern says it is worried that a rise in teenage drinking will lead to more people suffering from alcohol-related illnesses at younger ages.

“There has not really been much research into younger people’s drinking and the effects that it is having on health in this country,” said a spokeswoman. A US study shows that children who begin drinking before the age of 15 are much more likely to become dependent on alcohol.
 

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