Pancreas transplantation

The discovery of insulin by Banting and Best nearly 100 years ago made diabetes a treatable disease. Further developments, including synthetic short- and long-acting insulin, portable blood sugar monitoring and insulin pumps, have all improved diabetes treatment. Despite this, many patients will suffer from the secondary complications of diabetes, including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and premature cardiovascular disease. Pancreas transplant offers the ability to restore normoglycaemia in type 1 and selected type 2 diabetics. It aims to replace β-cell function, reduce short- and long-term complications of diabetes and increase long-term survival. The first pancreas transplant was performed in 1966 and since then there have been >50 000 pancreas transplants worldwide. The development of modern...