Reality television star Sam Vanderpump has publicly addressed cruel social media comments accusing him of exaggerating his terminal liver disease diagnosis.
The Made in Chelsea personality, who recently revealed his end-stage liver disease diagnosis on the E4 show, found himself forced to respond to online criticism after a troll claimed he was 'making a meal' of his serious health condition.
Confronting the diagnosis
The 28-year-old, who is expecting his first child with fiancée Alice Yaxley, emotionally shared his prognosis with castmates Ollie Locke and Tabitha Willet in recent episodes. Sam revealed doctors told him his liver wouldn't last more than four to five years, making a transplant essential for his survival.
'There is no hope of my liver getting better,' Sam explained during the heartfelt conversation. '[The doctor] said I wouldn't be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years.'
The nephew of reality TV icon Lisa Vanderpump maintained a positive outlook despite the devastating news, telling his friends: '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.'
Social media confrontation
Weeks after his television revelation, Sam faced insensitive commentary on social media when a user commented on his post: 'Sam is really milking this. The average wait for a liver transplant is 5 months.'
Choosing to address the misinformation directly, Sam recorded a video response clarifying his situation. 'I probably shouldn't engage with this. But there was one point I wanted to engage with,' he began.
'I didn't say I had four to five years to live,' he clarified. 'What the doctors said to me was, "Your liver won't make it four to five more years, that's why we need to do an organ transplant."'
He added pointedly: 'Believe it or not, I don't think the NHS go around giving liver transplants for the fun of it. It's not an ideal operation.'
Turning criticism into awareness
Rather than simply defending himself, Sam used the opportunity to advocate for organ donation, revealing there are currently 8,000 people in the UK waiting for organs.
'I've had moments like right now where I've gone, should I have just not spoken about it?' he admitted. 'But the reason I'm speaking about it so loudly is that there are currently 8,000 people in the UK waiting for organs.'
He highlighted a crucial statistic about donor registration: 'That number can drastically come down if everyone confirms their decision on the NHS organ donor register. The reason for this is that when that time comes, and someone's organs are viable for donation, if someone hasn't recorded their decision their family opt out 50% of the time.'
This approval rate increases to 90% when people formally register their decision, making the process significantly more effective in saving lives.
According to NHS Blood and Transplant figures, over 12,000 people have died in the UK while waiting for a transplant in the past decade, with 4,900 dying while actively waiting and 7,700 removed from lists after becoming too ill.
Following Sam's response, the critic's account was deleted, prompting Sam to remark: 'I think that says it all, I think that was a success though: he deleted his comments, stopped the spreading of misinformation and we continue the spreading of awareness.'
The television personality expressed gratitude for the public support, concluding: 'Thank you everyone for the support it actually means the world!'
