PATIENT STORY :
LIVER-KIDNEY TRANSPLANT HELPED TABITHA DERRYBERRY OVERCOME YEARS OF MEDICAL ISSUES
LIVER
OVERVIEW UAB Medicine is home to the only liver transplant program in Alabama and has performed over 3,035 procedures since its launch in 1983 . This volume has helped our program distinguish itself as one of the nation ’ s most experienced , with outcomes that consistently rank among the best in the United States , and we continue to overcome barriers to transplantation . We streamlined the transplant evaluation process and reduced travel burdens for patients who live far from UAB , and we provide comprehensive pre-transplant evaluations and post-transplant outpatient care at several satellite clinics in south Alabama and Tennessee .
EXCELLENCE IN ONE-YEAR PATIENT AND GRAFT SURVIVAL
PATIENT STORY :
LIVER-KIDNEY TRANSPLANT HELPED TABITHA DERRYBERRY OVERCOME YEARS OF MEDICAL ISSUES
Tabitha Derryberry
Tabitha Derryberry , 49 , is no stranger to chronic medical conditions . She has lupus , an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks joints , organs , and the skin . And when she was 35 , Derryberry learned that her kidneys were failing due to having Sjögren ’ s syndrome , an autoimmune disorder that attacks the body ’ s cells . With her kidney function at just 30 %, Derryberry began a regimen of immunosuppressant medications to slow down the kidney failure and avoid dialysis .
ORGANS – LIVER
Five years ago , however , those same immunosuppressants caused Derryberry to become seriously ill following a tick bite . A month after the bite , she found herself waking up on the bathroom floor in her Lexington , Tenn ., home with her husband , Brad , looming over her . “ He was in my face asking , ‘ Why are you throwing up blood ?’” she said . After rushing to the local hospital , Derryberry received six units of blood to replace what she ’ d lost due to bleeding esophageal varices .
‘ I found my people ’ Derryberry was referred to an organ transplant center , but it was only willing to consider her for a liver transplant – not for a kidney transplant , too . She then sought treatment at a different transplant center , which informed her that her estimated post-transplant survival ( EPTS ) score wasn ’ t high enough
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