What Is A Pancreas Transplant?

A pancreas transplant is surgery to implant a healthy pancreas from a donor into a person whose pancreas no longer functions well.

How does it help cure Diabetes?

Diabetes is a silent killer.

Normally, the pancreas releases insulin to help the body store and use the sugar and fat from the food we eat. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce any insulin or very little insulin. There is no definitive cure for diabetes except lifestyle modification, lifelong medications and insulin injections.

Pancreatic transplantation is the only available cure for diabetes in appropriately selected patients. Pancreas transplantation adds a significant survival benefit to diabetic patients who otherwise face a life expectancy that is one-third of normal.

There seems to be a significant survival advantage when this transplant is done pre-emotively, when the first signs of the end organ damage from diabetes are evident, rather than wait till organ dysfunction becomes evident.

What are the types of Pancreatic transplant?

Severe type I diabetes is often associated with chronic kidney failure. As a result, a person who needs a pancreas transplant may also need a kidney transplant.

Pancreas transplantation is carried out in three forms:

• Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation: This is for a diabetic patient on or approaching dialysis.
• Pancreas after kidney transplant: This is for diabetic patients who have had a successful kidney transplant but have ongoing complications from diabetes.
• Pancreas Transplant alone: Will benefit a patient with diabetic complications in the eyes, nerves as well as loss of warning signs for low sugars

How does one get evaluated for a Pancreas transplant?

The multidisciplinary team evaluates the patient to determine whether he or she is a good candidate for a pancreas transplant. Usually persons with severe diabetes, usually type I or juvenile-onset diabetes, are considered.

If suitable, the patient is placed on a waiting list. The person's health condition and suitability for major surgery are taken into account. Pancreas transplants are not performed on people with advanced cancer, chronic infections like TB, or very severe heart, lung or liver disease

What happens during Pancreas Transplant Surgery?

During pancreas transplant surgery, the donated pancreas is transplanted into the recipient, The pancreas must be transplanted into the patient receiving the organ within hours after removing it from the donor. The patient's own pancreas is not removed during a pancreas transplant. The donated pancreas is added to the recipient.

A pancreas transplant is an organ transplant that involves implanting a healthy pancreas (one that can produce insulin) into a person who usually has diabetes. Because the pancreas is a vital organ, performing functions necessary in the digestion process, the recipient's native pancreas is left in place, and the donated pancreas is attached in a different location.

The healthy pancreas comes from a donor who has just died or it may be a partial pancreas from a living donor. At present, pancreas transplants are usually performed in persons with insulin-dependent diabetes, who have severe complications that are usually of a renal nature. The majority of pancreas transplantations (>90%) are simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantions.

Over the recent years, long-term success has improved and risks have decreased. One year after transplantation more than 95% of all patients are still alive and 80-85% of all pancreases are still functional. After transplantation patients need lifelong immunosuppression. Pancreatic Transplantation procedure performed at Apollo offers a new lease of life to patients with insulin-dependent diabetes and other severe complications, related to kidney function.

Life following Pancreas Transplant Surgery

After pancreas transplant surgery, anti-rejection drugs are prescribed lifelong to prevent rejection The transplant candidate also must be willing to have lifelong follow-up checks.

Outcome and survival rates for Diabetics after a Pancreatic transplant

Diabetes cure rate is 80% at 10-years and the chances of a diabetic being alive at 25 years after a simultaneous kidney pancreas transplant is 70% versus 27% if the diabetic went in for a kidney transplant alone.

Apollo Hospitals, Chennai is performing a successful "single pancreas" transplant for the first time in India

February 25, 2016

For the first time in the country, an attempt was made for a pancreas transplant when an advanced heart life support vehicle traveled 18 kilometers within 12 minutes via a green corridor created from Chennai Airport to Apollo Hospitals on Grimes Road. Generally, the pancreas is transplanted together with the kidneys for patients who undergo kidney transplant for diabetes. However, in this case, the patient's kidneys were functioning normally.

On Wednesday afternoon, the members were brought to Chennai on a Jet Airways plane from Coimbatore at 1:20 pm. Then, a green corridor was established from the airport to the Apollo Main Hospital and the distance, which normally took from 45 minutes to an hour in 12 minutes, was covered. The pancreas, harvested from a brain-dead 19-year-old, was transported from Coimbatore and successfully transported to Apollo Major Hospitals with the help of Chennai Traffic Police who established a green corridor from the airport to the hospital.