Pancreas Transplant

Pancreas Transplant

Signs and Symptoms
Evaluation
Treatment

Evaluation

Patients with type 1 diabetes may be evaluated for pancreas and pancreas-kidney transplants. Patients with type 2 diabetics are less likely to be candidates for a pancreas transplant because they may be insulin-resistant and unable to reap the benefits of a pancreas transplant.

Although type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, type 1 diabetes most commonly occurs in children and young adults, which is why it was previously called juvenile diabetes. It is considered an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body's own immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Patients with type 1 diabetes have very little or no insulin and need to take insulin everyday.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the condition. It usually is diagnosed in adults over the age of 40. About 80 percent of those with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Because of the increase in obesity, type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed at younger ages and more frequently in children. Initially in type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced, but the insulin cannot function properly, which leads to a condition called insulin resistance. Most people with type 2 diabetes suffer from both insulin resistance and decreased insulin production.

If you became insulin dependent at the age of 18 or older, we will need results from a blood test to indicate your levels of C-peptide, a product of insulin production.

To complete the evaluation, we also need results from a number of other tests, including:

• Chest X-ray within the last year.

• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) within the last year.

• Blood tests, including an HIV (AIDS) test, within the last year.

• Persantine thallium or comparable test within the last two years. This test involves intravenous application of persantine to help expand the arteries and replicate the effect of vigorous exercise, and of thallium, a radioactive isotope detected by X-ray.

• Echocardiogram within the last two years. This test uses sound to create a picture of heart function.

• Twenty-four-hour creatinine clearance testing for persons not on dialysis. This test compares how much creatinine -- a blood waste product -- occurs in the blood and in the urine to evaluate kidney function.

Any changes in your health will be reviewed by our selection committee, which includes all transplant doctors and nurses. Your transplant eligibility will be reassessed continuously and further medical tests may be required.

Transplant candidacy also relies on adequate insurance coverage for your surgery as well as care and medications after discharge. Before a final decision is made, we will request verification of coverage from your insurance provider.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 8, 2007