The Saint Barnabas Health Care System Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers’ concerted statewide outreach efforts are one reason it is recognized as one of the most progressive transplant programs in the country. With a firm commitment to medical excellence, research, and patient education, it is not surprising that these Centers are the most active in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers offer the most advanced treatment alternatives, including their newest initiative – a pancreas after kidney transplant program.
 “A pancreas transplant frees someone with diabetes from daily dependence on insulin just as a kidney transplant liberates someone from dialysis,” explains Luigi Bonomini, M.D., Transplant Nephrologist at the Saint Barnabas Health Care System Renal and Pancreas Transplant Centers. “And improvements in the pancreas recipients’ lifestyle can be just as dramatic. Providing the opportunity for pancreas after kidney transplant in New Jersey prevents many people from having to travel out of state for the highly specialized surgery and follow-up care that extend for years,” Dr. Bonomini adds.
Marvin White, age 36, from Linden, says he was considering an insulin pump to treat his diabetes after nearly 20 years of insulin injections when the Saint Barnabas team suggested a pancreas transplant. He had already received a living kidney transplant at Saint Barnabas in 2000 when his younger sister donated one of her kidneys.
“I was confident about being able to control my diabetes with insulin, but I chose transplantation because I really wanted to preserve the kidney my sister gave me,” says Mr. White. According to Dr. Bonomini, a pancreas transplant can prevent or delay the secondary complications of diabetes, among them, blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and stroke, nerve damage, and impotence.
Since his pancreas transplant in August, Mr. White says he is enjoying foods he has not had in years. He has more energy now and is considering rejoining the professional gospel choir he had to leave when his health deteriorated several years ago. He is also looking forward to working out again without the difficulty of readjusting insulin injections to his changing activity levels. “I was a high school football player and could bench press 250-300 pounds before I was diagnosed with diabetes. It would be great to get back into that kind of shape,” remarks Mr. White.
Despite the transplant team’s assurances that he does not need to test his blood sugar anymore, Mr. White says he still checks it twice a day. “After 20 years, it’s a tough habit to break out of. I want to make sure this pancreas is still working.” He notes that since his pancreas transplant, his blood sugar level has been “excellent.”
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