Her symptoms, which included swelling, reduced dexterity and changes in skin pigmentation, have now begun to improve.
Ms Shepherd received a double hand and arm transplant at Leeds General Infirmary in September 2018 after losing both hands and three-quarters of her left arm to sepsis.
However, she began suffering symptoms of antibody mediated rejection (AMR) – a type of rejection where the immune system identifies the tissue as foreign and produces antibodies to fight it.
She is being treated in Leeds by Therapeutic Apheresis Services, an NHS team which removes harmful, disease-forming proteins, chemicals or cells from patients’ blood.
Ms Shepherd has received 10 sessions of therapeutic plasma exchange, in which plasma is removed from the blood to quickly decrease or remove the antibodies.
She is now due to begin immunosuppressive treatment in the hope of preventing antibody levels from rising again.
