What needs to be done before a pancreas transplant?
A team of specially trained staff evaluates a person to determine whether he or she is a good candidate for a pancreas transplant. If the person is considered a suitable transplant candidate, he or she will be placed on a waiting list. The evaluating team considers many factors in deciding whether a person should be placed on the waiting list for a transplant. The person’s general health and suitability for major surgery are taken into account. Pancreas transplants are not performed on people with certain conditions. These include: • Untreatable cancers • Infections that cannot be completely treated or cured, such as tuberculosis • Severe heart, lung, or liver problems or complications from diabetes that would make the operation too risky What is involved in pancreas transplant surgery? When a donated pancreas becomes available, it is surgically removed from the donor and transplanted into the recipient, whose failed pancreas is not removed. The pancreas must be transplanted into the p
