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Penn Transplant Institute

Pancreas

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Islet Cell Transplant

Islets are a group of cells that produce insulin and are found primarily in the pancreas. These insulin-producing cells are destroyed by type 1 diabetes. Islet cell transplantation is a procedure that involves transplanting islets cells from a donor pancreas into the liver of a patient with type 1 diabetes. If successful, the new islets begin producing insulin.

Penn Transplant Institute is one of the leading transplant centers in the nation researching islet cell transplantation. As a member of the Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium funded by the National Institutes of Health, Penn offers a number of clinical trials involving islet transplantation.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes affects more than 1 million people in the United States, where it accounts for up to 10 percent of all diabetes cases. This disorder leads to the loss of insulin-producing cells. Patients must take insulin by injection several times a day or constantly through an insulin pump to control their blood sugar levels. Many patients with type 1 diabetes have difficulty controlling their blood sugar and may experience dangerous episodes of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) that can lead to loss of consciousness or seizures, or high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) that can damage the heart, eyes, nerves and kidneys.