Sam Vanderpump reveals emotional decision after end-stage liver disease diagnosis

"I don’t think I could live with that."

Vanderpump confirmed last year that he would need to undergo a liver transplant in the coming years.

He was initially diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis of the liver and polycystic kidney disease when he was just four years old, however, he continued to live a normal life.

The reality star has now said that one of his options is to have a living donor liver transplant, where a section of liver is removed from a living donor.

Speaking to The Times, Sam opens up about his mixed feelings towards the transplant: “Could you imagine if I go in for a liver transplant, I wake up, and my friend or family member has died on the table? I don’t think I could live with that, and I don’t want to have to live with that.”

Due to the liver's unique anatomy, transplant doctors can remove a portion of a living person's liver and transplant it into a patient who has end-stage liver disease.

The NHS says that although many of these treatments are carried out worldwide, there remains a chance that the donor passes away.

The risk of death for a donor is approximately 1 in 200 in adult transplants requiring the larger right lobe from a living donor.

Sam said: “Before that [statistic] I was terrified of what I was putting someone else through, but now if someone is willing to offer me a portion of their liver I would accept it – particularly as it frees up a place on the waiting list for someone else.”

Sam’s brother is currently being evaluated as a potential transplant recipient, since it has already been determined that his mother is not eligible.

Sam also shares the same blood type as fellow Made in Chelsea star Gareth Locke, who is married to Ollie Locke and has since said that he would be open to the procedure.

The reality star previously revealed on the show the sudden way he discovered he needed a liver transplant.

“They always said, ‘You potentially may need a liver transplant’, and we went through a lot of testing and a lot of appointments, but as the years went on, they went, ‘You’re healthy, you’re fine, you live your life normally,’” he shared.

“10 or 12 weeks ago, I got a notification on the NHS app. This isn’t anyone’s fault, unfortunately this is technology being too good,” he clarified at the time.

“I got a notification on the NHS app from the new doctor I’d been referred to, saying: ‘I’ve reviewed your latest scans and looking at this I’m going to send you for a liver transplant assessment.’ It was crazy. It was such a radical turn,” he admitted.

“It was definitely a shock. I was quite frantic, got in touch with my doctor who said, ‘I can only apologise. I thought I had days to contact you before the letter reached you. I didn’t think you would get a notification on the app,’” Sam explained.

“I was quite frantic. I said to him, ‘I don’t understand because I feel perfectly well,’ I’m sitting here today, and I’ll probably go for a run. I don’t look like I need a liver transplant. But he said to me, ‘I understand that, but I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you if I thought in four or five years that your liver would be okay,’” he added.