On Friday, July 26, 2019 Hennepin Healthcare surgeon Dr. Paul Stahler transplanted a hepatitis C-infected kidney into a patient with kidney failure. This new life-saving – and life-changing – protocol of allowing the use of kidneys from hepatitis C-infected donors helps make transplant possible for more patients like CJ Dabney, who was fully aware of the risks and actually encouraged the procedure.
Dabney and transplant surgeon Dr. Paul Stahler discuss the procedure before going into the operating room.
“I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions,” he said. “I’m confident that if this type of transplant was available earlier, I would have made the same decision.”
In Minnesota the wait time for a deceased donor kidney is anywhere from 5-7 years. Sadly, because many patients are on the waiting list too long, they become too sick to undergo a kidney transplant or die. This is what happened to one of Dabney’s friends he met at dialysis, who jokingly coveted his “choice” spot where the two spent many hours each week receiving treatment. (more…)