Alcoholic, denied liver transplant, dies at age of 22

A MAN has died aged just 22 after teenage binge-drinking led to alcoholism.

Gary Reinbach, of Dagenham, Essex, died in hospital on Sunday after he was refused a liver transplant because he could not prove he had not drunk alcohol for at least six months.

Yesterday, his mother Madeline Hanshaw, 44, 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 hospital all the time and keeps damaging themselves, but just for people like Gary, who made a mistake and never got a second chance.”

Mr Reinbach was admitted to hospital 10 weeks ago and was too ill to be sent home as he had cirrhosis of the liver.

His mother said he was too ill to leave hospital so was unable to prove he could quit drinking.

She said he was “desperate to recover” but had deteriorated quickly.

Mr Reinbach’s family said he had started drinking aged 11 and drank heavily from 13.

He had tried to give up and had signed up for Alcoholics Anonymous just weeks before he was taken into hospital, they said.

His brother Luke, 18, told the newspaper: “They never gave him the chance to show he could change.”

Mr Reinbach died at University College Hospital, London. A hospital spokeswoman said: “Our sympathies are with his family at this time.”

Alcohol Concern said it was worried a rise in teen drinking would lead to more suffering alcohol-related illnesses at younger ages.

“There has not really been much research into younger people’s drinking and the effects that is having on health in this country,” said a spokeswoman.

A US study has shown if you have your first drink at an age younger than 15 then you are more likely to become alcohol dependent. We would like to see research done in the UK, she said.