He faces ‘end-stage’ liver disease, but Sam Vanderpump’s health battle began when he was four
'It was incurable'
Made in Chelsea and Vanderpump Villa star Sam Vanderpump is facing end-stage liver disease, but his health battle actually began years ago. He was diagnosed with a rare liver disease when he was just four years old, and for years, it barely affected his life. Now, after being told his illness is “irreversible”, Sam is urgently waiting for a life-saving transplant.
So, what condition does Sam Vanderpump have?
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Sam was diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis, a condition you’re born with that affects the liver. Speaking about his childhood diagnosis, he explained to the Mirror, “I have known about my liver disease since I was diagnosed at the age of four. It was incurable but for 23 years it didn’t affect me at all.”
But repeated infections became a serious issue. “I’ve had a few bouts of cholangitis which can be life threatening, which led to sepsis and that’s when I became very unwell just over a year and a half ago.”
Sam became critically ill after an infection spiralled into sepsis. Speaking to The Sepsis Trust, he recalled, “I couldn’t stop drinking water. I downed a litre in under an hour and my lips were still dry.”
He added, “I was taking loads of codeine for the back pain, and by Monday morning I wasn’t making any sense. Alice thought I’d overdosed.”
He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors told him he was going into kidney and liver failure. And he was taken into resuscitation.
After recovering from sepsis, Sam was given the news that his condition had progressed. Speaking on Made in Chelsea, he said, “There is no hope of my liver getting better. I wouldn’t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years.”
Doctors confirmed he now has end-stage liver disease, meaning the damage is irreversible. He said, “That’s why they want to do a liver transplant.”
Alice also spoke about the reality of his illness, explaining how serious things became. “When Sam was really ill, I don’t think I actually understood the severity of it because I was just in survival mode each day,” she said.
Sam is now on the transplant waiting list
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Alongside hundreds of others in the UK, Sam Vanderpump is on the transplant waiting list. He has also had to come to terms with the idea of a living donor, something he initially struggled with.
He admitted, “The last thing I wanted was to subject a family member or even a friend who’s healthy to the same journey.”
His mum, Simone, even offered to donate, but was ultimately ruled out during testing. Friends and family have since offered to be tested. And his Made in Chelsea co-star Gareth Locke-Locke has also stepped forward.
Despite everything, Sam is trying to focus on the present and being a dad. He said, “I’m a positive person and each day I’m dealing with it absolutely fine. And I’m able to be as good of a father as I would be if I was perfectly healthy.”
For now, he is staying as well as possible while waiting for the call that could save his life.
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