From left: Arthur Crabtree, Barbara Crabtree and Dr. Max Gomez, Medical Correspondant for WNBC.

A 37-year-old Ocean County woman who lived on daily insulin shots for more than 20 years was the first in a growing number of individuals to become free of the symptoms of diabetes after undergoing life-saving Pancreas After Kidney (PAK) transplant surgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. 

Barbara Crabtree, of Andover Township, who was diabetic since the age of 13, underwent surgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Center last year, becoming the first in the state to live a normal life, free of insulin shots, a regulated diet and, most importantly, the threat of long-term damage caused by the disease.

“A lot of people don’t realize how debilitating diabetes can be,” says Mrs. Crabtree. “The difference this made in my life is just amazing. I feel so much better. The pancreas completely changed my life.” 

Serious Complications from Diabetes

Mrs. Crabtree’s health had already been on a decline since 1989 when she experienced kidney failure and was on dialysis for a year and a half waiting to receive a kidney. Another family’s tragedy two years later, in 1991, allowed her a second chance when the family of an 11-year-old killed in a car accident donated their daughter’s kidney. Following surgery, Mrs. Crabtree immediately felt rejuvenated and continued to live life to the fullest in spite of her diabetes. 

However, her health continued to deteriorate due to the long-term effects of her diabetes. She suffered from a diabetic eye disorder known as retinopathy, open ulcers on her feet, high blood pressure, as well as the removal of her spleen and gall bladder before going on the waiting list to receive a pancreas.

Since Mrs. Crabtree’s kidney failure occurred before Simultaneous Pancreas/ Kidney (SPK) transplant surgery was available anywhere on the East Coast, and PAK transplantation was not available in New Jersey until 2001, she had little hope of eliminating her diabetes-related symptoms.

Success at Long Last

But in February 2000, she was put on the pancreas waiting list. A perfect match was found in February 2001 when she became the first person in the state to undergo the pancreas transplantation procedure.

“Expanding the scope of medical options and improving the quality of life of our patients with End Stage Renal Disease has been our primary goal,” explains Stuart Geffner, M.D., Director of Transplant Surgery for the Saint Barnabas Health Care System. “We are reaching out to those individuals with insulin dependent or type 1 diabetes who had a kidney transplant prior to 1995, as well as those who have had the benefit of a kidney transplant from a living donor. Living donor kidneys typically do extremely well, better than cadaver donations.”

To date, more than 50 PAC and SPK surgeries have been performed at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Today, Mrs. Crabtree is applying to pharmacy school, with plans underway for her to to work part-time in a pharmacy. "I feel terrific," she says.