Aims, objectives and endeavours...

Like I said, I don't want to create a blog lamenting on my personal experiences, albeit you will be privy to such to some extent, more over I want to create a forum exploring liver transplantation from a less recognised, and publicly regarded, perspective: 'young people', those who do not necessarily fit the demographic traditionally associated with organ transplantation, in terms of both age and circumstance.

Here I will outline exactly what it is I intend to explore. The overall idea is to unite in one place personal experiences and testimony, objective information and simple fact pertaining to liver transplantation amongst young people: a public forum. However, such a feat requires defining terms employed, such as 'young people', as well as the specific circumstances surrounding such a demographic when having to become the recipients of a new, healthy liver:

1) 'Young People' - Stereotypically, as well as statistically, the recipients of a liver transplant are middle aged, with a host of different possible reasons for the actual act. 'Young people', therefore, relates specifically, albeit not exclusively, to people aged 30 years and below. I have picked this demographic in consideration of specific emotional and psychological repercussions: having to live the majority of ones life as a 'transplantee', existing within the shadow of losing part of oneself and having ones own death prevented by the demise of another.

2) Context: reason and experience - Naturally, people undergo liver transplantation for a number of very abstract, and altogether complex, reasons. To explore all scenarios, experiences and conditions would be a fool hardy project, even within the bracket of 'young people', and detrimental to providing a comprehensive hub of information, a forum of shared experience with the aim of helping those of similar, yet still unique, backgrounds. I plan to explore those who experienced acute liver failure, like myself, meaning that within the space of a number of weeks, what was thought to be a healthy liver, degenerated to the point of requiring an emergency transplant lest die, as thus, jumping the NHS transplant register, let alone experiencing it. I do, however, want to contrast this with young people who experienced prior knowledge of needing, at some point, an organ transplant in order to continue their lives but not necessarily focus on those suffering from the more acknowledge and discussed liver diseases, i.e. diseases of the blood such as Hepatitis A, B and C, but Seronegative Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver caused not by a blood disease and therefore not liable to experience such an attack on the new, healthy liver received. I feel the difference between knowing and not about ones transplantation obviously has differing psychological and emotional consequences.

3) General information & myth busting - To provide information common to all those that have undergone a liver transplant, such as medication, side-effects, general and future experiences and complications. Also, attention will be placed on raising awareness of the true meaning of the term 'hepatitis', blasting aware preconceived, and often incorrect, associations and beliefs the general public maintain.

4) My personal experiences - Having already given a backdrop to the events preceding my own transplant I will continue to retell what, and how, I have experienced in that last four years: those keys moments that can prove useful to others who are perhaps yet to experience, or currently doing so.