DENVER — The demand for liver transplants among younger people, particularly young women, is on the rise in Colorado and around the country due to an increase in alcohol consumption, according to a recent UCHealth report.
Medical experts at the Teypeyac Community Health Center in Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighborhood said they are seeing the impact that skyrocketing alcohol use is having on the health of young people.
"It's not just in this neighborhood, this state, or city. I've seen it everywhere that I practice, I think because it's so much a part of human culture," said Dr. Patrick Huffer, who works with those battling addiction.
Dr. Jon Rice, who is a transplant hepatologist at UCHealth, says that during the COVID-19 pandemic, 60% of people increased their alcohol consumption.
"We transplant people, and a lot of that is driven by alcohol hepatitis. It's an acute, inflammatory issue from overconsumption over a shorter period, sometimes just years," said Dr. Rice. "That's why we're seeing a lot more young people who are developing this."
In 2016, UCHealth had one liver transplant patient the entire year, an older woman who needed the procedure because of alcohol use. That number has since shot up and stayed relatively high since. In 2023, 19 patients required a liver transplant because of alcohol.
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