The limits of philosophy in liver transplantation

At the Editor's request, Dr. Beresford reviews the paper by Martens, with particular reference to the clinical literature on liver transplantation in alcoholism. He concludes that abstract concepts, such as responsibility for one's illness, may have some theoretical value in academic discussions but that no studies support any direct practical usefulness for them in patient selection for solid organ transplantation. Rather, a sizeable body of work delineates a practical clinical approach to the evaluation of alcohol-dependent persons who request liver transplantation. He highlights the relevant aspects of this work briefly.