LIVING WITH DIABETES: PANCREAS AND ISLET CELL TRANSPLANTS
The best hope for a cure for people with diabetes who depend on insulin treatment is the replacement of the non-functioning pancreas cells with healthy ones. This could be done by Pancreas cell transplants. Pancreas transplantation has been carried out in a number of centers for many years, but unfortunately they have not been as successful as it would be hoped.
Most have failed soon after transplant has occurred. Most pancreas transplants are carried out in adults who also need a kidney transplant, and in some centers over 40% are still functioning by producing insulin a year or more after transplantation. There are however many problems associated with pancreas transplants. This is partly due to the fact that the pancreas is also an organ of digestion, and the digestive juices have destroyed the capacity of the pancreas to produce insulin. It is a difficult surgical procedure to transplant the pancreas and all the problems of organ rejection have to be overcome. There is also the problem of adequate supplies of pancreases. The body has only one pancreas, so you can’t donate your pancreas to a member of your family. Some centers are working on the possibility of transplanting part of the pancreas, as the human body does not require all of the pancreas to produce insulin.
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