Young people are waiting 156 days longer to get a liver transplant on the NHS

Younger people are waiting longer for liver transplants on the NHS, figures show. 

Younger people are currently waiting 156 days longer on average for a transplant than patients over 60, after a shortage of liver donors has led to a computer algorithm deciding who to prioritise on the waiting list.

There are around 700 people on the list as NHS Blood and Transplant (NHS BT) says difficult decisions have to be made and the system is saving lives.

However, some people do not get a liver transplant in time, which has led to the death of 69 people last year. 

A new algorithm was launched to cut deaths in 2018, which prioritises patients who are most likely to die soon, by looking at 21 recipient parameters, such as age, disease type and severity, and seven donor ones.

After which it gives a score - and the higher the score, the more likely a liver will be given. 

Younger patients have always had longer waits for liver transplants.

Before the algorithm came in, 26 to 39-year-olds would expect to be on the list for an average of 172 days - which was about 40 days longer than for patients over 60. Now the gap has widened to 156 days.

Liver transplant surgeon Prof Nigel Heaton told the BBC that he struggles to support his younger patients when he believes they could be waiting for years. They tend to be born with liver disease or to have developed it early in life.

He says: "It's not something they've done through drinking, drugs, or lifestyle. This is something that they haven't asked for.

"I think it's our duty to try and do the best we can for them, and to restore them to a normal life."

He explains: "They're not going to die immediately, but you can see they're deteriorating on the waiting lists.

"This jeopardises their chances of a successful transplant. and some will die without getting successful transplantation."

Instead, he wants the system to be tweaked, so they have the same opportunity as other age groups.

Olive McGowan, the chief nurse for NHS Blood and Transplant, acknowledges that it is incredibly stressful for young patients on the waiting list.

She points out that difficult decisions have to be made because there are not enough livers to go around.

She says: "What we must do is prevent patients from dying on the liver transplant waiting list. So we maximise this very precious gift and transplant those who are most in need."

Sarah Meredith, 31, told the BBC that she needs a new liver because of a rare complication caused by cystic fibrosis - and has been waiting since 2021 for one. 

Sarah gets emotional as she describes being in pain every single day.

"What concerns me the most is having my family watch me slowly die."

At the same time, she is trying to cope with the mental strain of waiting for so long, saying that "it's incredibly hard to keep yourself going". "Some days it's really quite dark," Sarah adds.

She has even moved from Devon to Cambridge so she can get to the hospital as soon as possible as she waits for the call that she has been matched to a donor liver. 

Sarah thinks her age, and the fact that she has a rare combination of conditions, are working against her.