Responsibility and Priority in Liver Transplantation

In a provocative 1991 paper, Alvin Moss and Mark Siegler argued that it may be fair to give individuals with alcohol-related end-stage liver disease (ARESLD) lower priority for a liver transplant than those who develop end-stage liver disease (ESLD) from other factors. Like other organs, there is a substantial gap between the available livers for transplantation and the number of people who need liver transplants. Yet, unlike those with end-stage renal disease, who can survive for some time on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant, those with liver failure will die without a liver transplant.