Cora
Member Username: Cora
Post Number: 562 Registered: 06-2007
| Posted on Thursday, August 07, 2014 - 09:10 am: |
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Hi there. It may be the first time U of U has done a pancreas only, but the article is incorrect that it has never been done before. I had my pancreas (I'm PAK, pancreas after kidney) done at the U of Mn, and their protocols are similar to those at other transplant centers. Yes, most pancreas's are done together with a kidney. But if you are hypounaware enough to have severe problems, they will do the pancreas only. The danger of the anti-rejection meds is deemed to be much less than those of being significantly hypo-unaware. It's great that more and more centers are doing pancreas only. It really is a life-saver for some people. But until they can get rid of the necessary drugs, unfortunately it's not for everyone. I have to say that I also object to the word "cure". Transplant is not a cure. it is another form of treatment. And one that will fail eventually. I'm not trying to be a debbie-downer, but I do know that I will probably live long enough to see dialysis again as well as my insulin pump. That's just the way transplant works.
Dx with T1 in 1966 Kidney tx in Minneapolis 2002 Pancreas tx in 2008 |
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