As we told you earlier, Ken has been approved for the transplant list at UNC. However, we felt (and UNC agreed) that Ken needed to be assessed by Duke to get on their transplant list, because Duke is much more aggressive in finding livers.

Duke does three times the number of liver transplants a year than UNC does. And Duke has a “pump” that is attached to the donated liver to keep it viable for much longer, so the geographic area where a liver can come from is much greater than what UNC can do. So, Ken was referred to Duke and went through about 35 (seriously, that many) medical tests as well as meetings with psychiatry and social work. He was approved every step of the way…until the LAST test, which was a dental clearance.

Unfortunately, it was discovered that Ken has some gum disease, and he cannot go on the Duke transplant list until that is cleared up. Treatment for the gum disease will take approximately six weeks. The reason the dental clearance is so important is that Ken will have NO immune system after the transplant, and they can’t risk any infection that could be potentially deadly for after the transplant. So that’s where we are, folks. Sitting. Waiting. Praying.