“What Logan and I learned on our rainy winter weekend:”
Logan and I spent most of the weekend doing research on elevated bilirubin, specificallly unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The two major findings:
- Bilirubin in people with Gilbert’s Syndrome can be as high as 8.0, though it is rare: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12198827
- Unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia with other tests being normal is DNA related. [source- “Diseases of the Liver and Biliary System”, by Shiela Sherlock and James Dooley]
I still need to follow up with the doctors to understand their position, but all of my research points to Gilbert’s or other rare syndromes that are due to DNA or gene abnormalities. It all seems to be related to the conjugation pathway being inefficient which is likely due to my donor’s DNA, and not any mechanical/plumbing issues with the graft. That’s good news – and for more good news: studies show those with elevated unconjugated bilirubin have a lower risk of cancer!
The Derek Janiak Hepatobiliary Forum 