A picture of the bloated, yellow face of Gary Reinbach deserves a place in every school, college, and university. It should be displayed in every pub or wine bar frequented by teenagers and young adults, and in every supermarket that stockpiles cheap alcohol. For his is the face of an epidemic of under-age and binge drinking that cuts across all social classes, from sink estates to the Cornish beaches that have become a playground for the privileged.
Gary, who began drinking at 13, died on Monday, aged 22, from advanced cirrhosis. His doctors described it as one of the worst cases they had ever seen. A liver transplant might have saved him, but he was denied it. He was too ill to leave hospital to prove that he could stay sober, a condition of acceptance on to the transplant list.
But, harsh as it sounds, it was right that Gary Reinbach did not receive a liver transplant. Donated organs are the most precious of gifts, and a hugely limited resource. For every person lucky enough to get a new liver, 20 others with liver disease will die. A liver wasted – and I use that word deliberately – on a chronic alcoholic, whatever his or her age, is a chance of life denied to a more deserving recipient.
On the day that Gary died, another youngster who has been at the centre of a transplant controversy was making headlines, too. Last November, Hannah Jones, then aged 13, won a court battle that gave her the right to refuse a transplant. The drugs used to cure her leukaemia had left her with a severely damaged heart, but Hannah decided that she had had enough of hospitals and gruelling therapies. She preferred to take her chance, even if it meant death.
Now, Hannah's health has worsened, and she has changed her mind about a new heart. Good luck to her. Hannah deserves her chance of life. Her illness, unlike Gary's, was not self-inflicted. Yet there is still a chance for his dreadful death to make a difference. According to Alcohol Concern, a staggering £848 million is spent on alcohol by those aged between 11 and 18. They say that demand is driven by exposure to advertising in cinemas and on TV, and met by supermarkets that vie with each other to offer the greatest range of cut-price booze.
A & E departments report a shocking increase in the numbers of drunken youngsters; a British Medical Association conference was told this month that every 48 hours, a child under 12 requires emergency treatment because of binge drinking. Consultants say that victims of liver disease are becoming ever younger.
In the Nineties, Leah Betts became a poster girl for the perils of Ecstasy. That shocking image of her on a life support machine is one few will forget. Gary Reinbach's death, too, could become the warning for every young drinker. It is a bitter legacy, but one that would give some meaning to a short, sad life.
- Daily Telegraph