Sunday 24 March 2013

Four kidneys and three pancreases

When we saw this headline, our initial thought was that someone had gone through a series of unsuccessful transplants, involving removal of a failed organ and replacement with a donor organ. We were wrong.

The article in the UK paper The Sun is about Carl Jones, aged 32. He has undergone several transplant operations, with a small difference. They left his original organs in place. So now he is living with four kidneys and three pancreases in his body. Carl had diabetes and spent a lot of time on a dialysis machine. He had his first kidney and pancreas transplant in 2004. Then in 2008 he had a second set implanted.

His diabetes has been cured, and he no longer goes through the regular dialysis treatment he endured for many years.