Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@samvanderpump
Topics: TV, Entertainment, Health, Channel 4
Brenna Cooper
Topics: TV, Entertainment, Health, Channel 4
Made in Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has revealed that he is suffering from 'end-stage liver disease' at the age of 28.
Vanderpump - who is related to US reality star Lisa Vanderpump, of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - has been open about his health struggles in the past few months, revealing that he was left 24 hours from death earlier this year.
In last night's (27 October) MIC episode, Vanderpump revealed to his costar Ollie Locke that he'd been diagnosed with end-stage liver disease, saying there is 'no hope of my liver getting better'.
Recalling his conversation with the doctor, he continued: "He said 'I wouldn’t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years'."
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He went on to reveal that he's now heading for an assessment ahead of a potential liver transplant.
According to NHS Blood and Transplant, end-stage liver disease (ESLD) occurs when the organ is damaged beyond repair and can no longer function properly, often due to chronic liver disease or acute liver failure.
This is due to cirrhosis, permanent scarring of the liver, which is caused by long-term damage to the organ. Patients experiencing liver failure may also experience kidney failure.
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Symptoms of (ESLD) can include: fatigue, jaundice, abdominal pain and swollen legs.
A shocked Locke then asked Vanderpump how he was feeling about the procedure, to which he replied: "The way I look at it is I’m healthy now, hopefully I will remain healthy all the way up until I’ll get a call and go in for surgery and then I wake up and I’ll be healthier."
The reality star added that he wasn't sure when the surgery would take place due to the organ waiting list.
Following the episode's transmission, Vanderpump shared a message from the NHS organ donor Instagram account, urging his followers to ensure they've consented to be a donor and informed their next of kin.
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This isn't the first time Vanderpump has spoken candidly about his health concerns.
Earlier this year, he revealed that he was hospitalised last Christmas, after a genetic disease led to him developing sepsis.
"Over Christmas, we went through a bit of an episode together where I got really, really ill," he told OK!
"I got an infection due to a genetic disease I’ve got, which led to sepsis and it ended up quite bad. I was in hospital and it was a close call; I could have died."