A 43-year-old mother will undergo a rare multi-organ transplant considered as the most challenging and difficult transplant operation in the world.
Seven Organ Transplant
Michelle Oddy said she is aware of the dangers of the operation. She was advised she faces nearly 40 percent chances of dying should she undergo the seven organ transplant, but she is willing to take the risk anyway.
Oddy was diagnosed of Crohn's disease as a teenager and the surgery will replace her bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, large and small intestine, and half of her stomach.
Oddy said that her health has deteriorated since her diagnosis of the inflammatory bowel disease at age 14, and she can now only consume liquids.
She said she is willing to take chances because her body has had enough with the hospital visits. She is also concerned over the effects of her poor health on her family after she almost died twice.
"It sounds morbid but it's only a matter of time before I die," she said. "There's a strong chance I won't wake up at all from the transplant. It sounds really scary and people ask why I'm doing it but I've got no life whatsoever."
Top Of The Organ Donation List
She will undergo the 20-hour operation at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, the only hospital in the United Kingdom that provides multi-organ transplant.
Surgeon Andrew Butler described the operation as rare and complex. Only four of this kind of surgery are done each year.
"We have carried out about 100 such procedures and internationally there have been around 1,500 bowel containing transplants in adults since 1992," he said.
Oddy is now on top of the organ donation list, carrying a buzzer with her all the time to alert her once a donor becomes available. All the organs will be from the same person.
Oddy sees the operation as her only chance to recover and hopes the surgery will be completed within the next month. After the operation, she will stay in the hospital for 10 months and at home for 14 months while she recovers from the surgery.
