On Tuesday May 20 the British Liver Trust’s Love Your liver Campaign will come to Northern Ireland for the first time. It will be set up at Castlecourt Shopping Centre on the morning of May 20 and will run through the morning and the afternoon.

The Love Your Liver Campaign in Manchester

The Trust has been running the campaign in Great Britain for several years. Last year was its most successful ever.  In all their team screened 806 people in 8 different venues, with queues in some places forming before 9 a.m. in the morning.  Of the 594 of these people who were fibroscanned, 124 were referred for further tests as a result of the scan showing signs of some liver damage.  Just as important, those who weren’t referred received the outcomes of their screening and information on changes that could improve their health and reduce the risk of liver disease.  As one of the trustees remarked, ‘Getting this early warning not only helps the individual but may save the NHS millions.’

The RVH Liver Support Group, in assisting the planning of the campaign, is grateful for the support of Mr. Andrew Langford, CEO of the British liver Trust,  the RVH consultants and the management of Castlecourt.  Please come along on the day and encourage friends and family to do so as well.

The February members’ meeting took place in the Samuel Irwin lecture theatre on February 20. The guest speakers were clinical psychologists Dr Melanie Wolfenden and Dr Chris Tennyson. Melanie deals with adults and Chris works with children. After an introduction by the chairman prepared questions were asked by Donald to our guests. When they gave their answers members had the opportunity to ask their own questions.

The thought that they had given to the questions, plus the clarity and detail with which they answered them, helped generate some very worthwhile discussion.  Both speakers emphasised the positive impact of strong mental attitudes in healing without ever downplaying the difficulties that patients encounter, particularly transplanted patients.  The blend of theory, research evidence and real life stories in their responses did much to ensure a very interesting  and encouraging evening. The extent of the audience participation was testament to that.