A 24-year-old Troy woman's lifelong dependency on insulin shots and pumps to deal with her diabetes may be over after receiving the first pancreatic cell transplant performed in Alabama. Doctors said Monday that Valerie Hendrix's new cells began working 24 hours after the procedure, which was performed at UAB Hospital on April 15.
The procedure took 40 minutes. Surgeons infused the cells into Hendrix's liver with a catheter.
Hendrix received 720,000 isletcells, which could be enough to cure her diabetes if they function properly.
