Treatment for teenager denied liver transplant

A critically ill teenager who was denied a liver transplant because his condition was drink-related is to be flown to a specialist unit for treatment.

Gareth Anderson, 19, from Newtownards in Co Down, was taken to hospital suffering from liver failure just over three weeks ago after a weekend of heavy drinking. His parents, who fear he may die before receiving a transplant, said it was the first time he had been admitted to hospital for a drink-related condition.

Gareth has been denied a transplant under NHS rules which state a patient must have abstained from alcohol for six months beforehand.

His father, Brian Anderson, said the rules were aimed at older, hardened drinkers, and that his son's drinking was no different to many other teenagers.

Stormont Health Minister Michael McGimpsey, who is under pressure to intervene in the case, announced yesterday that the teenager was being transferred from Ulster Hospital to the specialist liver unit at King's College Hospital in London for supportive medical therapy with the aim of stabilising his condition.