Liver transplant recipient vows 'never to touch alcohol again' after life-saving surgery
A liver transplant recipient said he will "never to touch another drop of alcohol" again after his addiction left him needing an urgent transplant in order to survive.
David Jones, from Mountain Ash, said he had been battling a bad addiction for several years and as a result was put on the liver transplant waiting list for more than two years.
"I had to go an a high priority transplant list as my condition deteriorated massively", he said.
"If they didn't find a liver within two weeks , there was a possible chance I wouldn't make it.
"When I got accepted for the transplant, it was the scariest time of my life. I wasn't scared about the transplant but the moment I had to sign the paperwork to say basically if anything goes wrong on the operating table, there's nothing we can do.
"I'm really, really a lucky man."
Chronic liver disease has doubled over the past twenty years and is now the biggest cause of death in those aged between 35-49 years - but nine in ten cases are preventable.
A mobile liver screening unit is travelling around Wales over the next few days to raise awareness of liver disease.
People can learn more about how to keep their liver healthy and may be offered a free liver scan.
Jonathan Worsfold, Project Delivery Manager at British Liver Trust has explained the importance of early detection for liver disease.
"It's really important that we do this because liver disease is a huge problem in the country", he said.
"One of the major issues with liver disease is that you don't tend to see any symptoms until the disease is in a much more advanced stage.
"90% of liver disease cases are due to lifestyle related factors. That's generally people that are drinking too much alcohol, people who are carrying excess weight or eating an unhealthy diet.
"Finding out early is so important because if you miss things early, liver disease can develop to a much more advanced stage and once it gets to a certain point, it's not possible generally to reverse the damage."
David is now looking forward to the future and wants others to learn from his mistakes.
He said: "I will never, ever touch another drop of alcohol in my life. I know they say 'never' is a big word, but I mean it. I will never put my doctors through it again because they worked hard to save my life."