Kyoto islet isolation method: the optimized one for non-heart-beating donors with highly efficient islet retrieval

Area of Science:

• Transplantation immunology
• Organ preservation and procurement
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Clinical cadaveric islet transplantation in Japan is limited to non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs).
• Existing islet isolation protocols are optimized for brain-dead donors, necessitating adaptation for NHBDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify and establish an effective islet isolation protocol for NHBDs in Japan.
• To enable a clinical islet transplantation program using NHBDs.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Kyoto islet isolation method, incorporating established and novel techniques.
• Isolation of islets from 13 human pancreata obtained from NHBDs.
• Transplantation of 11 islet preparations to six type-1 diabetic patients.

Main Results:

• The Kyoto method yielded islets meeting the Edmonton protocol release criteria in 84.6% of preparations.
• Successful initiation of a clinical islet transplantation program in Japan.
• Consistent preparation of islets from NHBDs meeting high-quality standards.

Conclusions:

• The Kyoto islet isolation method is effective for preparing human islets from NHBDs.
• This protocol facilitates clinical islet transplantation for type-1 diabetes in Japan.
• The method achieves a high success rate in meeting established transplantation criteria.