"We can rebuild her!" Topic

Last year a Norwegian woman suffering from Crohn's disease, had 6 organs transplanted into her. The duodenum, small intestines, colon, stomach, liver and pancreas. They took out her spleen, so only original parts left in her stomach cavity was the kidneys. She can now for the first time in her adult life actually go hiking.

Go science!

Not to pee on anyone's parade, but unless they get the autoimmune portion solved, the poor girl's lymphocytes are just going to attack here new organs. I also have an autoimmune disease (MS) so I can fully sympathize.

Not "solved" so much as "managed". My daughter has had a transplanted liver for 15 years this October.

To be fair, the duodenum isn't much of an organ. And if you're transplanting the stomach and small intestines it's easier to bring it along than not. I wonder if they brought along the appendix. If the duodenum is an organ the appendix certainly is. If you're going for a high count you should definitely bring along the appendix. It's more useful than you think.

Still, that's everything from the esophagus to the rectum. I wonder

The pancreas transplant is interesting on its own. Normally the original pancreas is left in place when someone receives a new one, since if anything goes wrong with the new one the patient can die pretty quickly. That means that the original one continues to aid digestion and the new one is installed somewhere *else* to produce insulin. But with Crohn's I suspect it's important to get rid of the old pancreas, making the whole thing much too exciting.

Did this happen in 2016?

Dan

The duodenum is part of the small intestines & it contributes to digestion. As far as the appendix, they may have removed it or the "donor" may have had it removed prior.

That will be quite a chore to rebuild her….Oh, wait, sorry I just looked at the topic heading and I thought it was about…..

Having Chron's myself I wish her all of the luck in the world.