Pancreas Transplantation Health Article

Definition

Pancreas transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a diseased pancreas is replaced with a healthy pancreas that has been obtained immediately after death from an immunologically compatible donor.

Purpose

The pancreas secretes insulin to regulate glucose (sugar) metabolism. Failure to regulate glucose levels leads to diabetes. Over one million patients in the United States have insulin dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus. Successful pancreas transplantation allows the body to make and secrete its own insulin, and establishes insulin independence for these patients.

Pancreas transplantation is major surgery that requires suppression of the immune system to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted pancreas. Immunosuppressive drugs have serious side effects. Because of these side effects, in 1996, 85% of pancreas transplants were performed simultaneously with kidney transplants, 10% after a kidney transplant, and only 5% were performed as a pancreas transplant alone.

The rationale for this is that patients will already be receiving immunosuppressive treatments for the kidney transplant, so they might as well receive the benefit of a pancreas transplant as well. Patients considering pancreas transplantation alone must decide with their doctors whether life-long treatment with immunosuppressive drugs is preferable to life-long insulin dependence.

The best candidates for pancreas transplantation are:

• between the ages of 20–40
• those who have extreme difficulty regulating their glucose levels
• those who have few secondary complications of diabetes
• those who are in good cardiovascular health.

Precautions

Many people with diabetes are not good candidates for a pancreas transplant. Others do not have tissue compatibility with the donor organ. People who are successfully

controlling their diabetes with insulin injections are usually not considered for pancreas transplants.