PERCEPTIONS OF LIVER-TRANSPLANT CANDIDATES WITH OR WITHOUT AN ALCOHOL-USE HISTORY

Cirrhosis secondary to alcohol use is a primary cause of liver disease and a medical condition for which liver transplantation is a viable t reatment option. However there remains considerable debate within both the lay and the medical communities regarding the distribution of a s carce medical resource to adults with alcoholism. This study examined college students' perceptions toward an adult, presented in a written vignette, for whom liver transplantation was medically indicated. The influence of gender (female and male) and alcohol use history (no alco hol history, alcoholism history with long-term abstinence, alcoholism history with current use) on these ratings was examined. Subjects rate d the adult presented with no alcohol history more positively than the y did the adults presented with a history of alcoholism. Also the adul t with no alcohol history was more likely to be offered transplantatio n and was given higher priority ratings for transplantation by subject s. While subjects' own alcohol use history and organ donor registratio n status were not associated with ratings, having a family member with an alcohol problem and personally knowing a transplant recipient were related to more favorable ratings toward the adult presented in the v ignette. Implications of these findings as well as limitations of the study are discussed.