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What is a Pancreas Transplant?
The goal of transplant is to provide you with a solid functioning human pancreas to perform the work that your pancreas is no longer able to do. A successful transplant can return you to a state of good health. The pancreas you will receive is from someone who has died and donated their pancreas (deceased pancreas). This may be in combination with a kidney transplant or after a kidney transplant. Islet cell transplant is also from one or more deceased donor pancreas that have been processed in a laboratory and then infused into you. Any of the types of pancreas transplant you and your transplant team decide upon, the ultimate goal is to improve your quality of life and become insulin independent.See diabetesportal.com for more information
Purpose
Solid organ pancreas transplantation is a surgical procedure that places a healthy pancreas from another person into your body. This new pancreas performs all the work that your diseased pancreas is not able to do. In pancreatic islet cell transplantation, islet cells are taken from one or more pancreas and transferred into another person. Once implanted, the new islet cells will begin to make and release insulin.
How it Works
For combined kidney and pancreas transplantation, a surgeon places the new kidney and pancreas inside your body in your lower abdomen. The surgeon connects the artery and vein of the new kidney and pancreas to your own blood vessels. Your blood flows through the new kidney and pancreas and makes urine and insulin, just like your own kidneys and pancreas did when they were healthy. The urine flows into the bladder through the ureter of the kidney which is surgically attached to the bladder. The new kidney may start working right away or may take up to a few weeks to make urine. Your own kidneys are usually left where they are, unless they are causing infection or high blood pressure. The pancreas produces both insulin and other digestive enzymes, which drain through the pancreatic duct into the duodenum (part of your intestines). The new pancreas is also attached to part of your duodenum, which allows these enzymes to drain. Your own diseased pancreas is not removed during the operation. The surgery takes 6 to 8 hours to complete the surgical procedure. The hospital stay is approximately 7-10 days.
Pancreas transplant, after a kidney transplant, is done at a separate time. Usually a pancreas transplant is done after a living donor kidney transplant and is for patients who have a living donor kidney and do not want to wait for a deceased donor combination kidney and pancreas transplant. The pancreas is placed in your lower abdomen. The surgeon connects the artery and vein of the new pancreas to your own blood vessels. The pancreas is also attached to part of your duodenum, which allows drainage of enzymes that assist with digestion. Once again, your own diseased pancreas is not removed during the surgery. The surgical procedure takes 2 to 4 hours to complete. The hospital stay is approximately 7-10 days.
For islet cell transplantation, a surgeon uses an ultrasound to guide the placement of a small catheter (plastic tube) through the upper abdomen and into the liver. The islet cells are infused through the catheter into the liver. It takes some time for the cells to attach to new blood vessels and begin releasing insulin. A second infusion may be needed for you to receive enough islet cells to become insulin independent. The transplant procedure takes less than an hour to complete. The hospital stay is approximately 7-10 days.
Where Pancreas Come From
You may receive a pancreas from:
- A person who has recently died. This is called a deceased donor.
A deceased donor pancreas transplant or combination kidney and pancreas is where someone is waiting on the transplant list. The United Network for Organ Sharing is the national organization that manages the allocation or distribution of organs. The waiting list has more than 88,000 people in need of all organ transplants and over 2,400 are waiting for a combined kidney and pancreas transplant in the entire United States . There are over 1,600 people waiting for a pancreas alone. Unfortunately, there are more people waiting for transplants than there are organs available to be transplanted. The Hume-Lee Transplant Center transplanted half of the patients at 8.0 months from the time they were placed on the waiting list for kidney and pancreas; for pancreas alone, the Hume-Lee Transplant Center transplanted half of the patients at 11.8 months from the time they were placed on the waiting list (ustransplant.org). These waiting times vary from patient to patient due to individual medical conditions, genetic characteristics and sensitivity of the patient. This is often why more and more people are choosing to have a living donor kidney transplant, followed by a deceased donor pancreas transplant.
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