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World Leader in Pancreas Transplant and
Islet Transplant |
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The Transplant Center—Pancreas transplants for diabetes
Leading the way in pancreas transplants
In 1966, University of Minnesota surgeons performed the first pancreas transplant in the world. In 1978, David E. R. Sutherland, M.D., Ph.D., performed the first living-donor partial pancreas transplant. Still one of the world's leading pancreas transplant surgeons, Dr. Sutherland and his medical team continue to offer the valuable option of a living-donor transplant for diabetic patients, which eliminates the wait for a deceased-donor pancreas. Three types of pancreas transplants are performed at University of Minnesota Medical Center to treat insulin-dependent diabetes. Patients can receive:
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David Sutherland, M.D., Ph.D.
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The organs may originate either from a deceased-donor or living donor, or a combination of the two. It is not unusual for patients needing both a kidney and pancreas transplant to get the kidney transplant from a living donor, and pair it with a deceased-donor pancreas—surgery is then done simultaneously, or the pancreas is transplanted after kidney transplant surgery. Developing options to meet patients' needs while making optimum use of donated organs is a critical part of the transplant philosophy at University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Facts about the Pancreas Transplant Program
- largest pancreas transplant program in the world
- first human pancreas transplant in the world — 1966
- first simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplant in the world — 1966
- first living-donor pancreas transplant in the world — 1978
- first simultaneous laparoscopic living donor pancreas and kidney transplant in the world — 2000
Ongoing Innovation
Research, teaching and clinical efforts in pancreas and islet transplantation were formalized in 1994 with the creation of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation. Institute staff are working to perfect the use of transplantation as a cure for diabetes, and to apply the science of immunology to prevent diabetes. See the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation website: http://www.diabetesinstitute.org/
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