What is a kidney and/or pancreas transplant?
A kidney transplant is an organ transplant that involves implanting a healthy kidney (one that can filter the blood) into a person with kidney failure. A pancreas transplant is an organ transplant that involves implanting a whole healthy pancreas (one that can produce insulin) into a person who has Type 1 Diabetes. There are three main types of transplantation performed by the Toronto Pancreas Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital: • Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant (SPK) when the pancreas and kidney are transplanted simultaneously from the same deceased donor • Pancreas-after-kidney transplant (PAK) when the pancreas transplantation is performed after a previous kidney transplantation, and • Pancreas transplant alone (PTA) for patients with Type 1 Diabetes suffering from severe, hypoglycemic unawareness, but adequate kidney function.
