I read an article recently by Andrew Smith that has me baffled—not by him, but rather the alarming facts that he discussed about people with cystic fibrosis (CF) who elect not to have restorative surgery.

During 1987 to 2014, cystic fibrosis patients who suffered a loss of pancreatic function typically failed to undergo transplant surgery that could potentially improve their health significantly, allowing them to manage blood glucose levels and digest food more efficiently.

Duh?!

Yeah. Apparently of the 4,595 (approximately) patients that the data was gathered on, only three CF patients elected to have pancreas transplant surgery. The article goes on to mention other percentages of those patients who elected other transplant surgery, but these percentages were slight.

Is it because of the possibility that CF patients were concerned about long-term survival after the surgery? Well, apparently the chances of surviving at least two years post-op are excellent.

So as I pondered it a bit more, I began to wonder if maybe their reluctance to undergo an organ transplant all boils down to one of 3 things:

1. Having to take a ginormous amount of anti-rejection meds day (in addition to your current treatment plan) in and day out—for the rest of your life so that your body won’t reject your new organ(s)?

2. FEAR of surgery and dealing with the arduous task of recovery! Plus, for every week in the hospital, it takes approximately 6 weeks to recover!

3. $$$$$$ and yeah, surgery is not cheap even when it’s approved by insurance.

All of these things seem logical to me. And now I’d like to hear from you!

If you’d like to learn more about organ transplants for people with CF click here.

Are you and/or your loved one living with CF and, if so, what’s your experience with organ transplant surgery?

This month, PatientWorthy is teaming up with CysticLife.org to spread awareness of CF and support their collaboration with the Mayo Clinic for a community-driven research project investigating the benefits of exercise for CF patients. If you’re interested in contributing to the fund or want to become a CysticLife member, drop by CysticLife.org or donate here today! Don’t forget to share this post!