Woman Denied Liver Transplant Due to Alcoholism—but She Hadn’t Had a Drop to Drink

Suspected Alcoholic

Once again, Leland had tested positive for alcohol on a urine drug test, leading the team to believe that she was hiding an alcohol abuse disorder. Suspecting that Leland’s alleged addiction may have led to her failing liver, they insisted that she seek professional help elsewhere.

Something Strange

Leland was once again denied a spot on the waitlist and kicked to the curb. Soon afterward, in early 2019, a psychiatrist with the transplant center approached the medical director of the UPMC Clinical Toxicology Laboratory, Kenichi Tamama. She had noticed an anomaly in Leland’s lab results and wanted a second opinion…