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Sam Vanderpump has fired back at an insensitive troll on social media who claimed he was ‘making a meal’ of his end stage liver disease diagnosis.
A few weeks ago the Made in Chelsea star, 28, who is expecting a baby with fiance Alice Yaxley, emotionally opened up on the show, revealing his liver won’t last for more than a few years.
‘There is no hope of my liver getting better and [the doctor] said I wouldn’t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years,’ Sam revealed while talking to castmates Ollie Locke and Tabitha Willet about the crushing diagnosis.
After being asked by Ollie how he is feeling, Sam – nephew of reality TV legend Lisa Vanderpump – continued: ‘The way I look at it is I’m healthy now, hopefully I will remain healthy all the way up until I’ll get a call and go in for surgery and then I wake up and I’ll be healthier.’
Asked how long this will take, Sam added that people ‘will be higher up on the list’, so he can’t be sure.
Weeks later Sam has now been forced to deal with a troll on social media, as they commented on his recent post saying: ‘Sam is really milking this. The average wait for a liver transplant is 5 months.’
What is end-stage liver disease?
End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is the final stage of liver damage, where the liver is so scarred and damaged that it can no longer function properly.
This irreversible condition is the result of chronic liver diseases, such as advanced cirrhosis, or acute liver failure.
Symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, swelling, confusion, and abdominal pain, and treatment may involve a liver transplant if the liver function is severely compromised.
Without a working liver, a person cannot survive.
‘I probably shouldn’t engage with this. But there was one point I wanted to engage with,’ Sam said, speaking to the camera on social media.
‘I didn’t say I had four to five years to live. What the doctors said to me was, “Your liver won’t make it four to five more years, that’s why we need to do an organ transplant.”
‘Believe it or not, I don’t think the NHS go around giving liver transplants for the fun of it. It’s not an ideal operation.
‘I’ve had moments like right now where I’ve gone, should I have just not spoken about it? But the reason I’m speaking about it so loudly is that there are currently 8,000 people in the UK waiting for organs.
‘That number can drastically come down if everyone confirms their decision on the NHS organ donor register. The reason for this is that when that time comes, and someone’s organs are viable for donation, if someone hasn’t recorded their decision their family opt out 50% of the time.’
He continued: ‘We can increase that to 90% if we confirm our decision today.’
How do liver transplants on the NHS work?
According to the NHS, the majority of livers that are suitable for transplantation in the UK come from donors that have died (deceased donors).
The anatomy of the liver means that it is possible to remove part of it from a living person. The removed part can then be transplanted into a patient with end-stage liver disease. Currently, 3 in 100 liver transplants performed in the UK are from living donors and the majority of these are for children.
There are more people waiting for liver transplants than there are donors.
The average wait time for a liver transplant in the UK is 5 to 7 months, while patients can shorten their wait time if they are willing to accept a higher risk liver.
It’s difficult to predict when a liver might come available, because to be a good fit they have to be in a suitable blood group, height and weight for the recipient.
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‘I don’t know how many lives are lost every year, but it shouldn’t be measured like that. If we can save one life every year I think it’s worth it,’ he finished.
In the past decade, over 12,000 people have died in the UK while waiting for a transplant.
Figures released by NHS Blood and Transplant to mark Organ Donation Week in September found 4,900 people died while actively waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and a further 7,700 were removed from the active list after being deemed too sick to receive one, with many dying soon after.
Despite Sam’s explanation, the troll continued to comment, saying, ‘I’m glad I could provide today’s content, that’s going in the group chat. Apologies if I caused offence. Good luck to you,’ before their account was seemingly deleted or removed.
Seeing the troll’s profile no longer exists, Sam said: ‘I think that says it all, I think that was a success though: he deleted his comments, stopped the spreading of misinformation and we continue the spreading of awareness. Thank you everyone for the support it actually means the world!’
How to register to become an organ donor
It’s easy to register your decision to become an organ donor, just head to the NHS’s organ donation section and fill in a form.
You can also call 0300 123 23 23
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