Pandemic drinking leads to spike in pandemic liver transplants

For proof that the pandemic has led to more alcohol consumption in the U.S., one needn’t look any further than hospital transplant records.

The number of people who have undergone liver transplant surgery -- as well as the number of people on waiting lists for new livers -- has gone up by 50 percent, medical professionals say.

Heavy drinking for several years can lead to alcohol hepatitis, which causes irreversible liver damage, according to doctors. But excessive drinking over a short amount of time can result in the same, which is what’s happened to thousands of Americans, doctors say.

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