SAN DIEGO : Pancreas-Kidney Recipient Released

San Diego’s first pancreas-kidney transplant patient was released from UC San Diego Medical Center on Friday morning, three weeks after the life-saving operation was performed, hospital officials said.

Michael Manley, 28, received a new pancreas and a new kidney in an eighth-hour operation March 6, hospital spokeswoman Nancy Stringer said. Manley’s own kidneys and pancreas were not removed, and the transplanted organs will seek to supplement their functions, Stringer said.

Manley, a 16-year diabetic, received daily dialysis for about a year before the operation, Stringer said.

He received the new pancreas to regulate his blood sugar level and the new kidney to separate water and waste from the blood, Stringer said. Doctors will know in two or three months whether Manley’s body will reject the new organs, officials said.

Joint pancreas-kidney transplants are fairly common in the United States, with 340 of the operations performed last year, Stringer said. The operation has been performed with good success for about 10 years, and the survival rate is about 80% in the first year, she said.