Transplant
Read about people whose lives were changed with transplant surgery at Duke, and learn how Duke transplant specialists use new procedure and techniques to give people a second chance at life.
Can a New Device Make More Hearts Available for Transplant?
Michael Woods’ heart and kidney disease were slowly worsening as he waited for a heart and kidney transplant in early 2020. With limited hearts available, he co ...
Six Myths and Facts About Kidney Transplantation
If you have kidney failure, a kidney transplant can help you feel better and live longer. Unfortunately, many myths persist about kidney transplant, including w ...
North Carolina’s First Double Hand Transplant Recipient Grateful for Gift
In April 2017, Debra Kelly developed an invasive strep A infection that almost killed her and required her hands and legs to be amputated. Just 10 months after ...
Donated Kidney Saves Best Friend’s Life
Glenn Graham and Cecil Hogue have been best friends since third grade. That friendship took a step beyond the routine in 2018 when Graham donated a kidney to sa ...
Liver Transplant Cures Rare HEHE Liver Tumor
Teresa Cumbie’s liver cancer was so rare that her Myrtle Beach, SC oncologist had never seen anything like it. After her biopsy samples were sent for medical op ...
Duke Performs North Carolina’s First Abdominal Wall Transplant
Johnathan Nauta, 37, had suffered with intestinal obstructions for most of his life. After more than 20 surgeries failed to fix the problem, he had run out of o ...
Swift Path to Kidney Transplant, After a Decade of Kidney Disease
At age 27, Barb Lavalette learned she had a disease that, over time, could severely damage her kidney function. For more than a decade, she managed her kidney d ...
Liver Transplant Saves Critically Ill Patient
Ray Thompson was a teenager when doctors first suspected something was wrong with his liver. He was an adult when he learned his condition was autoimmune hepati ...
Second Opinion at Duke Leads to Successful Liver Transplant
Lemuel Stewart was on track to being approved for a liver transplant when he got the bad news: His age and previous heart surgery disqualified him for a transpl ...
Living Healthy After Liver and Kidney Transplant at Duke
Kenn Wiggins, 40, enjoyed five years of good health after undergoing a liver transplant near his home in Charlotte, NC. However, when his autoimmune hepatitis, ...
Brothers Thrive After Lung Transplants at Duke
U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Bonnette and his brother Robert, a volunteer firefighter, are used to saving the lives of others. After developing pulmonary fibr ...
Eleven-Year-Old Boy Receives Kidney for Christmas at Duke
After battling kidney disease his entire young life, 11-year-old Kaleek Beatty got the best present he could ask for, just five days before Christmas 2016. Duke ...