Durrell Becton was seventeen and getting ready to go to college in Ohio when he received the terrifying news that he had type 1 diabetes. “Probably one of the scariest moments ever. It completely changed my life.” For the next 21 years he did his best to manage his diabetes. He was then diagnosed with chronic kidney disease caused by the diabetes, which progressed to kidney failure.
Durrell consulted Steven Potter, MD, an experienced kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon at MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute and transplant nephrologist Sonika Puri, MD. After an evaluation, Dr. Potter told Durrell he was a candidate for simultaneous deceased donor kidney and pancreas transplantation. The transplantation of a new pancreas cures the patient’s diabetes and the new kidney replaces the ones damaged by type 1 diabetes so the patient has normal kidney function. Watch to learn why Durrell says the transplant was his best birthday gift ever.