At Pajamas Media, Dalrymple writes of a past dilemma brought on by his status as a doctor and writer:

A newspaper in England asked me to write an article, for what for me was a considerable sum of money, to opine that a certain very famous soccer player, who had turned severely to drink after his retirement, should not be given a second liver transplant, the first having failed because of his continued drinking. The player in question was not admirable, but he did say one memorable thing. Impoverished by his habits, an interviewer asked him where all his money had gone. “Wine, women and song,” he replied. “The rest I wasted.”

I told the newspaper that, as a practising doctor, I could not possibly write an article saying that a named person should be left to die without potentially life-saving treatment.

He goes on to say he didn’t actually believe the patient’s second transplant should be prioritized over someone else’s. “But doctors treat diseases, not the deserts of their patients.”

Update: Sorry, I forgot the link. Included above. Thanks for the reminders.