Gratl & Company filed a class complaint of discrimination in the provision of liver transplants at the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (“BCHRT”). The representative claimant is the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (“UBCIC”). The respondents are the Provincial Health Services Authority (“PHSA”), British Columbia Transplant Society (“BCTS”) and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (“VCHA”) (collectively referred to as the “Respondents”).
If you believe that you may be a class member, please contact Jason Gratl at 604-694-1919.
The complaint asserts that the process for providing access to liver transplants discriminates against Indigenous people, contrary to section 8 of the British Columbia Human Rights Code. Section 8 of the Code protects individuals from discrimination in the provision of a service on the basis of Indigenous identity, ancestry and race. Two aspects of the liver transplant process are challenged.
First, UBCIC says that patients with alcoholic liver disease are required to abstain from alcohol for six months before they are eligible for a liver transplant. UBCIC says that this requirement has no basis in science, and discriminates against Indigenous persons with alcohol use disorders and who are perceived due to stereotyping to have alcohol use disorders. In respect of this allegation, it represents a class of people identified as “Indigenous persons who have been adversely impacted by a policy requiring six months of abstinence from alcohol before a liver transplant” (the “Abstinence Class”). If this six-month abstinence policy has been applied to you or if your physician has attempted to apply this policy to you, you may be a member of the class. Please contact our office if you believe you may be affected.
Second, UBCIC says that the medical assessment tool used to assess the degree of liver dysfunction, called a “MELD-Na score”, is ineffective where the patient has Primary Biliary Cholangitis (“PBC”). Indigenous people have higher rates of PBC, particularly women. A patient’s MELD-Na score is used to assess the patient’s need for a transplant, and influences their placement on waiting lists. The higher the MELD-Na score, the worse off you are perceived to be and the greater the perceived need for you to get a transplant. The complaint asserts that MELD-Na scores underestimate the needs of people with PBC, and that people with PBC have longer wait times and higher death rates. The class of people affected are defined as “Indigenous persons with PBC who have been adversely impacted by the use of MELD-Na scores to determine their access to a liver transplant” (the “PBC Class”).
The BCHRT rejected an application to dismiss the complaint and has scheduled a hearing of this complaint to commence in August 2025. The hearing of this complaint is scheduled to begin on August 5, 2025.
For more information about the complaint and to confirm whether you are a class member you can contact class counsel:
Gratl & Company
511-55 East Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC
V6A 0A5
Telephone 604-694-1919 and ask to speak with Jason Gratl, the lawyer working for UBCIC and class members. Or contact Jason Gratl by email at jason@gratlandcompany.com.
If you want to be included as a class member, then you are not required to take any action at this time. If you have any questions about the claim or about your membership in the class, please call Class Counsel at 604-694-1919. We would like to hear from you.
Opting Out
If you are a class member or believe that you may be a class member, you may opt out of the representative complaint. For advice about the purpose and effect of Opting Out, please call 604-694-1919 and ask to speak with Jason Gratl, the lawyer working for UBCIC and class members, or contact Jason Gratl by email at jason@gratlandcompany.com.
If you wish to opt-out of this complaint, an Opt-Out Form is here: Opt-Out Form. The Opt-Out Form should be sent by courier, mail, or email to the lawyers for the Respondents.