Islet Transplant Program Center
The Emory Transplant Center in Atlanta, Georgia is one of just a handful of institutions around the world investigating islet transplantation as a type 1 diabetes treatment.
Islet transplantation in the United States, and at Emory University, is still in the research stage. Because recipients of islet transplants must take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection, at present islet transplantation is only considered in patients with brittle type 1 diabetes.
What Is Islet Transplantation?
The "Islets of Langerhans" or "islets" are clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Insulin is released by the islets in response to glucose levels in the blood. Insulin allows the body to use the glucose to produce energy. People with type 1 diabetes have lost the ability to produce insulin. They must take insulin injections several times a day to control their glucose levels in order to stay alive.
The islet cell transplant process begins when a pancreas from an organ donor becomes available. The islets from the pancreas are separated from other cells through a highly complex process called "islet isolation." The islets are then infused into the liver of the recipient. Recent advances in islet isolation have resulted in sustained insulin independence in people with type 1 diabetes, perhaps making islet transplantation more common in the foreseeable future.
The Emory Islet Transplant Program has performed clinical trials using the Edmonton Protocol (developed by researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada) with promising success. Much has been learned, and today islet transplantation continues to bring hope to patients with diabetes and their doctors.
Islet Transplant Program Highlights
Emory is currently the only islet cell transplant program in Georgia. The first islet transplant was performed at Emory on March 20, 2003. As of August 2010, Emory transplant surgeons have performed 22 successful islet transplant procedures on 15 patients.
The islet transplant program at Emory received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Emory's Institutional Review Board (IRB) in January 2003, and is currently accepting patients in three islet transplant protocols.
