Why You May Need a Pancreas Transplant
Your decision to undergo a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant should involve many considerations.
At Emory University Hospital, we consider kidney-pancreas transplantation for patients with Type I diabetes that are on, or close to requiring, dialysis. A kidney-pancreas transplant can offer a better quality of life for such patients. With a new kidney, you will no longer experience renal failure, but your new pancreas also will maintain your blood sugars at a normal level. Kidney-pancreas transplantation thus can offer you the chance to return you to a more normal, productive lifestyle.
The Emory kidney-pancreas transplant team strives to thoroughly educate every candidate about transplantation. Post-transplant management can be difficult and demanding. You and your family must completely understand the risks, limitations, and benefits of a kidney-pancreas transplant before you can make an informed decision concerning the procedure. It is important that you understand that a kidney-pancreas transplant is an ongoing treatment, not a cure for your disease. You will need daily medications and rigorous follow-up by the transplant team and your local physician for the rest of your life.
The Healthy Pancreas
Your pancreas is a slender gland located between your stomach and spinal cord. This gland performs two major functions. First, it secretes two substances that control the amount of blood sugar in your body: insulin and glucagon. Insulin helps your body absorb blood sugar from the blood into your cells to produce energy. This process, however, also lowers your blood sugar level. Glucagon, on the other hand, raises your blood sugar level by stimulating sugar production in various organs.
The other function of your pancreas is to produce enzymes that are secreted into the small intestine to help with digestion.
Diabetes Mellitus and its Effect on the Kidneys
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the pancreas either manufactures very little or no insulin or the pancreas makes insulin but the body is unable to use that insulin properly.
There are two types of diabetes. Type I diabetes occurs early in life, usually by the age of 25. In this type of diabetes, your body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. As a result, your pancreas makes little or no insulin, causing the level of your blood sugar to rise. If you have Type I diabetes, you must use insulin injections or an insulin pump to help control your blood sugar. Type II diabetes occurs later in life. In Type II, although the pancreas still makes insulin, your body resists the action of that insulin. One key difference between Type I and Type II is that Type II is easier to control, usually by diet and exercise. When these are not effective by themselves, patients with Type II diabetes may take medications by mouth or require insulin injections.
While both types of diabetes may lead to serious, long-term complications, Type I is more likely to do so. In the United States , 7.3 million people are living with diabetes. Of those, about 700,000 have Type I diabetes. Each year 30,000 new cases of Type I diabetes are diagnosed.
Over a period of time, the kidneys of patients with diabetes may also become damaged by the body's inability to maintain the proper balance of glucose. Kidney disease, one of the most serious complications of diabetes, causes at least one third of patients with Type I diabetes to experience kidney failure within 20 to 30 years after the onset of their disease.
