After years of dialysis, pancreas transplant gives DC man a new lease on life

Durrell Becton was just 17 years old when he found out he had Type 1 diabetes.

He said he was having a number of health problems, including constant weakness, nausea, continual thirst and urination.

“I was diagnosed maybe a month before I went off to college,” Becton told WTOP. “Come to find out that my blood sugar was over 1,000.”

The normal range for healthy blood sugar is 60 to 120.

That began years worth of treatments with insulin and, ultimately, dialysis when his kidneys failed.

Becton is 38 now and has had a kidney and pancreas transplant from MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

“It’s life-changing,” Becton said. “As of right now, I’m totally (diabetes) and kidney disease free.”

“There is (an epidemic) of diabetes in this country,” said Dr. Steven Potter, director of pancreas transplant surgery at MedStar Georgetown School of Medicine. “There are about 38 million people in the United States right now with diabetes.”

Potter said that diabetes can be managed effectively with insulin treatments, proper diet and exercise. But severe cases, those in which a person’s kidneys have failed and they need to be on dialysis, can have a devastating effect on someone.

“The cost of that, in terms of lives lost, is unbelievable,” Potter said. “Pancreas transplantation is an incredible intervention because it’s the only way to cure diabetes.”

World Diabetes Day is the leading global campaign dedicated to raising awareness about diabetes. It takes place annually Nov. 14 and is organized by the International Diabetes Federation.

“I feel great! I feel way more inspired than I was before,” Becton said.

To learn more about diabetes and strategies to manage it, visit the federation’s website.

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