A woman in her twenties with type 1 diabetes has undergone the first pancreas transplant operation in the UAE. During the five-hour operation at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi she also received a new kidney.
The combined transplant took place in November and provides new hope for type 1 diabetics with significant complications such as kidney failure or the inability to control their blood sugar with insulin injections.
For patients who have been living with the need to inject insulin every day, that feeling of liberation can be truly profound.
The young woman’s new pancreas will produce insulin to manage her blood sugar, effectively ending her status as a type 1 diabetic. The new kidney will treat her diabetes-related kidney failure.
Dr Luis Campos, the surgeon who led the transplant operation, said: “The introduction of pancreas transplantation in the UAE has the potential to significantly change lives for the better. We can now combine a life-saving kidney transplant with a life altering pancreas transplant that frees patients with type 1 diabetes from daily insulin injections. For patients who have been living with the need to inject insulin every day, that feeling of liberation can be truly profound.”
100th organ transplant
The dual organ transplant marked Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s 100th organ transplant since the introduction of transplant services in 2017. The hospital is the only multi-organ transplant centre in the UAE and one of only a small number worldwide with the expertise, facilities and training to be able to perform pancreatic transplants. The operation requires detailed planning, and the input of a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, endocrinologists, social workers, nurses and allied health professionals.
Type 1 diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent, juvenile or childhood-onset diabetes) is characterized by deficient insulin production by the pancreas and requires daily administration of insulin. Neither the cause of Type 1 diabetes nor the means to prevent it are known. The condition usually presents during childhood and affects around 5% of all diabetics worldwide.
Symptoms include excessive excretion of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia), constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly.
“Pancreas transplants are very complex operations that require a great deal of evaluation before the surgery can take place. Most patients with type 1 diabetes can manage their blood sugar using insulin injections. However, if they develop kidney disease that progresses to the point they require a transplant, combining that procedure with a pancreas transplant can really change their life, allowing them to eat and drink normally, without worrying about their blood sugar levels,” said Dr Campos.
According to a statement from the hospital the young woman is recovering well and is able to produce insulin for the first time in more than 20 years. She will be closely monitored for the first few months following the operation.
