heavy drinking – a term defined as five or more drinks for males, or over four for females, on one occasion at least once per month in the past year.

What the article calls heavy drinking, would have been nothing to me when I was an active alcoholic. Towards the end I'd be drinking anywhere from a pint to a fifth of bourbon a day. I was an active alcoholic for over a decade, running from age 23-33. I'm thankful that I was able to sober up, celebrated 5 years sobriety (from alcohol) a few months ago. Saved my life.

It actually takes surprisingly little if it's done consistently and without giving your body time to rest.

A standard drink has roughly 14g of ethanol in it. People with notable liver damage tend to have a history of a decade or more drinking 30-50 grams a day, or two to three drinks.
People who drink more than 80g a day for a decade are almost guaranteed to have liver problems (~5-6 drinks).

Obviously drinking a half gallon a day is worse, but consistent long term drinking is also not great.

It is essentially a poison that's only around because it's easy to make and traditional at this point.

Not made up, I just read a couple other articles that mentioned it.
It's also part of the whole "the only people who can talk freely are the people with an interest in the doctors being wrong".

People aren't turned away because they didn't exercise or because they work too much or they don't get enough sleep or they didn't follow doctor's orders. So, in Nathan and Amanda's case, you're seeing someone being told, 'You didn't follow doctor's orders, so we're not going to help you. We're going to let you die'

As a quote from the other interested party, as well as the "in documents shared with CTV News, notes show [...] their decision was based on 'minimal abstinence outside of hospital.'" is pretty much spelling it out.

It seems the average in the US is 10 years. But you can develop it and reach critical levels in as little as 5 years. Hard alcohol every day. Multiple times a day.

Typically, a huge amount. But genetics may have been an issue, as well.

But doctors say that people with severe liver disease from alcohol use may need more than just a partial living liver donation to thrive.

"The sicker someone is, the more they benefit from getting an entire liver from a deceased donor, as opposed to part of the liver from a living donor," said Dr. Saumya Jayakumar, a liver specialist in Edmonton and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

"On the off chance their (living) liver doesn't work, they urgently get listed for a deceased donor," said Jayakumar. "We need to make sure that everyone who is a candidate for a living donor is also a candidate for a donor graft as well, " she added.

Guy you were responding to wasn't entirely accurate with what the article says, but general idea is there. If the partial liver fails, then they immediately get added to the full liver list, which is why they need to meet the full liver list requirements. Based on how end-stage she was, it sounds like its less likely the partial would be successful.