# My cousin has a new pancreas! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163 "2020-07-23T22:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/1 "2020-07-23T22:27:46Z")
Well, a second-hand pancreas, strictly speaking, but gently-used is better than no pancreas, which is what he’s had for the past several years (along with no spleen, no gallbladder, neither original kidney, and a partial large intestine). It’s been a miserable wait-- he basically had to put his whole life on hold so that he would be ready to rush to his registered clinics at any time. And he was told to get ready, several times, only to be told last minute that it wasn’t a match after all. And now, it’s actually gone through. He had the operation yesterday, and so far so good. I don’t think he’ll be that much worse off, Covid risk-wise; he was already on immunosuppressant drugs anyway because of his kidney, and now he won’t have diabetes anymore. (I think. I don’t know all the medical details). It’s been a suck year in general, but I’m glad I can report at least one really good news. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/2 "2020-07-23T22:50:41Z")
Oh, that’s great. I hope it works out for him. Wish him well from me. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/3 "2020-07-23T22:56:29Z")
Cool! I didn’t even know pancreas transplants were a thing. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/4 "2020-07-24T01:25:16Z")
^ That makes two of us. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/5 "2020-07-24T02:02:32Z")
Awesome!! I never really knew until I was diagnosed with Type 2 that that pancreas was such a major player in the grand scheme of things. It’s like…brain, heart, lungs, pancreas. All else is trivial. My friend’s dad got a new pancreas quite a while ago and he’s still doing well! I hope your cousin goes on to have many, many happy years with their replacement part! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/6 "2020-07-24T03:48:26Z")
Good news! I hope your cousin recovers well/. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/7 "2020-07-24T10:57:45Z")
Wonderful to hear some good news for anyone for a change - best wishes to your cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/8 "2020-07-24T16:40:25Z")
Great news! Yes your cousin’s diabetes will (should) improve significantly. My wife received a pancreas transplant in 1998, and a kidney too. The miracles of modern medicine. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/9 "2020-07-25T03:10:31Z")
They’ve been performed since 1966, but the procedure was rarely successful (as in the patient went home alive, with a functioning pancreas) until the 1980s. > **[The history of pancreas transplantation: past, present and future - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18710120/)** > > The first attempt to cure type 1 diabetes by pancreas transplantation was done at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, on December 17, 1966, followed by a series of whole pancreas transplantation. Due to the lack of potent immunosuppressive... Only a fraction of the pancreas is needed to “cure” diabetes, but the whole organ produces digestive enzymes, which is why the whole organ really needs to be transplanted. It’s also a relatively small and extremely fragile organ. To the OP: What happened to your cousin to cause him to lose so many organs at once? This should dramatically improve his QOL, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/10 "2020-07-25T17:28:34Z")
Pretty much, taking insulin every day is better than taking immunosuppresants; however, since a high number of diabetics experience kidney failure\*, people who are diabetic, AND have kidney transplants become candidates for pancreatic transplants, since they are already taking the drugs. \*I have a familial history of adult onset type 1 diabetes, due to an autoimmune disorder, and so I was out-of-hand rejected as a kidney donor, without any kind of testing to see if I had any personal risk factors. If you have even the remotest chance of kidney disease that may require you to need your kidneys as your own reserve, so to speak, you can’t donate (well, if the recipient had been my own child, the answer might have been different, but it was “just” a friend). ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/11 "2020-07-26T02:59:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > To the OP: What happened to your cousin to cause him to lose so many organs at once? This should dramatically improve his QOL, that’s for sure. He has a genetic condition, and then on top of that, he started having reoccurring bouts of pancreatitis. I’m not sure why they had to take out all the stuff they took out. Update on the cuz: He had some internal bleeding, but they plugged the leak and cut back on his anticoagulants. Otherwise, he seems to be doing well. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/12 "2020-07-26T08:20:01Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > He has a genetic condition, and then on top of that, he started having reoccurring bouts of pancreatitis. I’m not sure why they had to take out all the stuff they took out. Wild speculation here: as you mentioned, the pancreas makes digestive enzymes. During pancreatitis those get get loose and start digesting the person’s internal organs. “All the stuff they took out” might have needed to be removed due to that process. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cousin-has-a-new-pancreas/916163/13 "2020-08-06T00:27:00Z")
Update: Cousin was having a bit of a rough week-- with bleeding and clots and an infection-- but he stabilized, and now he’s out of the hospital! He’s staying in a some sort of “transplant house” at the moment, but hopefully he’ll be hope sooner than later.