Dawn Ethier, a mother of four and police officer in Ottawa, is the first in North America and one of perhaps two in the world given new parathyroid glands that have eliminated her debilitating symptoms?
Her case may mark the start of a new treatment for some patients who have hypoparathyroidism disease, often caused by neck surgery for thyroid disease.
This was her first transplant ever, performed with a team at the UHN Ajmera Transplant Centre.
Alongside the thyroid gland are four tiny parathyroid glands that can be damaged by surgery.
Some estimates suggest that over 100,000 people in North America develop parathyroid disorder each year.
Treatment with parathyroid hormone (PTH) medications and other supplements can help normalize the body's levels of calcium, which the parathyroid usually regulates, but there are few other treatment options if standard therapy doesn't work.
Devon, after Ethier herself researched other possible treatments, finding one successful parathyroid transplant from a deceased donor in Germany in 2016.
Devon, who had never performed a transplant, says she was intrigued.
Some patients receive their own parathyroid tissue in the forearm right after thyroid removal surgery.
It took almost two years to devise a plan during the pandemic, and to find Ethier a potential donor.
When a second donor was found another transplant was performed in May 2022.
Four parathyroid glands, about the size of a grain of rice, were taken from a deceased donor?
Within 10 days, Ethier says, her blood tests showed her parathyroid was functioning
But balanced against an improved quality of life, Ethier says there is no comparison
"I'm actually thriving now," said Ethier
And now they have you know something to look forward to," said Ethier
In fact, doctors at the UHN transplant unit are preparing a study of five more patients to see if parathyroid transplants from unrelated donors are an effective and lasting treatment
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