Dying drug addict refused second liver transplant

[adellejefferiesxox]

Claire Murray is a 24-year-old mother of two who has only months to live if she does not have a liver transplant, but she is being refused a place on the waiting list for a donor organ.

Her family knows her case will polarise views because she has abused heroin in the past.

She even took drugs after her first transplant last year to treat acute liver failure caused by 12 years of addiction to amphetamines and heroin.

That donor liver has now failed, and doctors at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital have told her parents, Michael Murray and Val Milne, they cannot consider her for a second transplant.

Ms Murray's family accepts she continued to abuse drugs after the surgery but argue that the success of the transplant may have been limited because of issues with the surgery and inadequate rehabilitation.

Nationals MP Vince Catania and Labor MP Martin Whitely are campaigning for the mother of Chloe, 5, and Taj, 4, to be given another chance.

Mr Murray said yesterday his daughter had been a happy and healthy A-grade student at a Perth private school before being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age 12. She was prescribed dexamphetamines and began abusing the drugs, later moving on to speed.

"We feel one thing led to another, and ultimately her addiction, and that's when our problems began," he said.

Mr Murray said his daughter had been on the methadone program before her transplant and was deemed fit for the surgery but he did not believe she was properly followed up to ensure she did not continue to abuse drugs.

Ms Murray's mother had given up work to support her and she had been clean of drugs for eight weeks.

"She now has three to six months to live," he said. "We're very aware that if Claire goes back on the list it doesn't mean she's going to get one and it's not necessarily going to save her life. But everyone deserves another chance."

Ms Murray said she felt far more prepared and determined to make the most of any chance she was given.

A SCGH spokeswoman said the hospital operated a world-class liver transplantation unit that met Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand protocols for eligibility and had exceptionally high survival rates.

It denied that surgical care or post-operative treatment were lacking or contributed to Ms Murray's outcome.

Late yesterday, Health Minister Kim Hames said Ms Murray did not meet national guidelines for a transplant and it was not reasonable to provide an organ to her when there were seven West Australians waiting for their first transplant.

He said 19 liver transplants were carried out in WA last year, and three people died waiting for a new liver.

But he said the State Government was prepared to pay for his Mr Murray and his daughter to go to New Zealand for the case to be reviewed by a specialist experienced in "live" liver transplants, which used a piece of a liver from a living family member.

Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newsh...ver-transplant/

I'm really interested to know what other people think about this story. Do you believe she deserves another chance? Do you think the article is bais and is making her out to be the victim because she is a mother and has AHD.

[eadire]

Ok, I believe she should not be put on the transplant list, because as said a lot of people are waiting on them and if they have not been abusing drugs they should get the transplant. She has already been given a chance and she did not take that. She made her decision and not unfortunately she must stick with it. It is people's decision to do drugs and they must take the consequences of their actions along with their decisions.

Just my opinion.

[-Kevin-]

Yeah I agree with eadire.

There are other people who deserve a liver transplant , those that haven't damaged their own liver by choice. Its called self infliction and I am afraid she is going to have to learn to live with her bad decisions. I know this is what I say but if it was my family member who was in that position then I would propably most likely have a different view on this. (as I'm sure we all would) Its her family I feel sorry for and her children. Maybe she could be given another chance , because the thought of her children and family are kinda changing my opinion

[thelonius]

I'm in a couple of mindframes about this. I feel compassionate towards her because I understand that addiction is not an easy thing to battle and if she already had a drug problem, being on medication after surgery I can see how she could go back to being addicted. If her parents are right and the follow-ups and post-op procedures were not done properly, that is partly the hospital's fault.

On the other hand, she's had her chance and I feel it's unfair to the other patients on the waiting list if she were to be prioritised over them. If nobody else was missing something then I wouldn't have a problem with it but they will be. I think it's a fair call what Kim Hanes said about funding sending her somewhere that offers live liver transplants.

I don't think the article is entirely biased because they offered both sides of situation but they definitely gave more coverage for the mother being allowed a second chance.

[Zetti]

Thats a tough one for me since my uncle has been waiting for a lung transplant for ages and if this woman goes back on the list and gets the liver and then abuses her body again; it makes the wait and pain others who wouldnt abuse it worthless because it could have been preventable. I cant really seem to be compassionate towards her... its a tough one for because it hits home for me.

[Lesley Bee]

Im the same mixed views, i mean addiction is a very hard thing to beat but on the other hand she has already had a transplant which worked but because of continued drug abuse eventually failed. I guess its not really fair on other people who are waiting and have been for ages, if she gets another chance.

[adellejefferiesxox]

Father will risk all for daughter

Claire Murray’s father Michael says he is aware of the risk he would be taking if he is declared an eligible organ donor for his daughter but he was prepared to die.

"I’m 55 years of age so I’ve lived a good full life, you know what I mean? It's for one of your kids. I never gave it a second thought," he said.

The live liver transplant procedure is very complex, with a relatively high risk that the donor could die.

Mr Murray said he was happy with the Government's offer to fly the family to New Zealand for the tests, even though there was a chance it would not pay for the operation.

"We just have to keep going and going and going," he said. "When we get over that (the tests) we’ll deal with the next one. Two days ago we were nowhere, today we’re flying to New Zealand for tests."

Labor MP Martin Whitely told Parliament Ms Murray was a victim of the medical system which prescribed her a "high-end" dose of dexamphetamine at the age of 12 which led to long-term drug use.

"Why was Claire a drug addict, why did she have the problem of drug abuse? Is it something that she did consciously, is it a decision she made?" he said.

"We are not giving Claire a second chance here, we are giving her a first chance. She was robbed of her first chance."

Nationals MP Vince Catania said a civilised society like WA should be doing everything it could to save Ms Murray.

"It will be tragic for this state and this nation to allow a mother who is only 25 years of age with two children (aged) five and four to pass away without trying everything possible to ensure that she can have a productive and loving life with her family," he said.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/685508...sk-all-daughter

[~Lynd~]

I have no sympathy.Her situation is self inflicted and she screwed up her first chance.Why should she be given a second chance when there are people on the list who didn't do it to themselves.Sorry if that sounds harsh but I don't think it's fair to others on the list if she were to get another one.

[Lise]

I have no sympathy for her. She had a chance and screwed it up. I've seen someone close to me put themselves through hell for years yet they kept abusing their own body. If she was actually serious about turning her life around she would have done it after the first transplant.

[HAA Girl 08]

I have no sympathy.Her situation is self inflicted and she screwed up her first chance.Why should she be given a second chance when there are people on the list who didn't do it to themselves.Sorry if that sounds harsh but I don't think it's fair to others on the list if she were to get another one.

I have no sympathy for her. She had a chance and screwed it up. I've seen someone close to me put themselves through hell for years yet they kept abusing their own body. If she was actually serious about turning her life around she would have done it after the first transplant.

I couldn't agree with you both more. There are many more people out there who've been waiting longer and actually deserve to have a transplant.