UAE's first pancreas transplant done; patient also gets a new kidney

Doctors at a hospital in Abu Dhabi have performed the UAE’s first pancreas transplant in an operation, which also saw the patient receive a new kidney.

The five-hour operation at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi saw a young woman in her twenties with type 1 diabetes receive a new kidney to treat her diabetes-related kidney failure and a new pancreas to eliminate her reliance on insulin injections. Following the operation, her new kidney will be able to filter waste from her blood, while her new pancreas will produce insulin to manage her blood sugar — effectively ending her status as a type 1 diabetic.

The patient’s body is able to produce insulin for the first time in more than 20 years, doctors 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,” said Dr Luis Campos, the surgeon who led the transplant operation.

The rare, 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.

Unlike type 2 diabetes, which is linked to lifestyle factors such as obesity, type 1 occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The condition usually presents during childhood and affects around 5 per cent of all diabetics worldwide.

“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,” added Dr. Campos.

• Abu Dhabi