Single institution outcomes in the first 3 years of pancreas transplantation from brain dead donors

Background A total of 26 pancreas transplants from brain dead donors, including 21 simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplantation procedures, have been performed at Fujita Health University Hospital since the new pancreas transplant program was initiated in August 2012. The objective of this study is to investigate the outcomes of pancreatic transplantation in our facility in first 3 years of the program. Methods The background characteristics of the donors and the outcomes of 26 pancreas transplant recipients were analyzed. Results The mean age of the recipients was 44.0 years, and all recipients had a long‐term history of diabetes (mean: 30.2 years). In the SPK cases, the patients also had a long history of hemodialysis (mean: 6.3 years). Although the average donor age was 41.0 years and more than half of the donors were marginal donors (defined according to Kapur's criteria and Troppmann's criteria), the patient survival and pancreatic graft survival rates were 100% and 91.7%, respectively. Unfortunately, two recipients experienced graft failure due to graft thrombosis, which resulted in graft loss. Conclusions The new pancreas transplant program at Fujita Health University has provided excellent outcomes for patients with type 1 diabetes. Highlight Although more than half of the donors were marginal and most recipients had a long history of type 1 diabetes and dialysis, Ito and colleagues report excellent outcomes after pancreas transplantation from brain‐dead donors with 1‐year patient survival, pancreatic graft survival and insulin‐free rates of 100%, 91.7% and 87.5%, respectively.