Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part I: Digestion and Collection of Pancreatic Tissue

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part I: Digestion and Collection of Pancreatic Tissue

Published on: May 26, 2009

Donor and isolation variables predicting human islet isolation success.

Stephen C Hanley¹, Steven Paraskevas, Lawrence Rosenberg

¹Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.

Transplantation

|April 15, 2008

Summary

Optimizing islet isolation from donor pancreata is crucial for transplantation. Key factors influencing islet yield and successful isolation include donor characteristics, enzymatic digestion time, and enzyme lot used.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Pancreas Transplantation for Recipients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Results of an International Survey.

Transplantation direct·2026

Same author

Liver transplantation from donors following medical assistance in dying: a scoping review and retrospective cohort study.

Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie·2026

Same author

Utilization of liver grafts obtained from donation after medical assistance in dying: A Canadian multicenter experience.

Journal of hepatology·2025

Same author

Implementing the pillars of value-based care: Leadership lessons from the CIUSSS Centre Ouest de l'Ile de Montreal.

Healthcare management forum·2025

Same author

Canadian Highly Sensitized Patient Program Report: A 1000 Kidney Transplants Story.

Canadian journal of kidney health and disease·2024

Same author

An investigation of functionalized chitosan and alginate multilayer conformal nanocoating on mouse beta cell spheroids as a model for pancreatic islet transplantation.

International journal of biological macromolecules·2024

Area of Science:

Endocrinology
Transplantation Biology
Islet Cell Research

Background:

Advances in islet transplantation and in vitro expansion necessitate optimized isolation of islets from cadaveric human donor organs.
Retrospective analysis of 171 islet isolations was performed to identify predictive variables for islet yield and isolation success.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify key variables that predict islet yield and isolation success in cadaveric human donor pancreata.
To evaluate the impact of donor, procurement, and isolation-related factors on islet isolation outcomes.

Main Methods:

Retrospective analysis of 171 human islet isolations.
Correlation analysis of donor, procurement, and isolation variables with islet yield and isolation success (> or =250,000 islet equivalents).

More Related Videos

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part II: Purification and Culture of Human Islets

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part II: Purification and Culture of Human Islets

Published on: May 26, 2009

Isolation of Human Islets from Partially Pancreatectomized Patients

Isolation of Human Islets from Partially Pancreatectomized Patients

Published on: July 30, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part I: Digestion and Collection of Pancreatic Tissue

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part I: Digestion and Collection of Pancreatic Tissue

Published on: May 26, 2009

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part II: Purification and Culture of Human Islets

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part II: Purification and Culture of Human Islets

Published on: May 26, 2009

Isolation of Human Islets from Partially Pancreatectomized Patients

Isolation of Human Islets from Partially Pancreatectomized Patients

Published on: July 30, 2011

Main Results:

Donor age, body surface area, digestion duration, and beta-cell volume correlated with islet yield.
Donor sex, procurement team, and protease inhibition affected islet yield; enzyme lot and fatty infiltration influenced isolation success.
Logistic regression identified donor sex, age, and digestion duration as predictors of successful isolation (72% accuracy). Liberase CI improved yield in younger donors.

Conclusions:

Donor-related variables may act as surrogates for pancreatic beta-cell volume in predicting islet yield.
Enzyme lot and enzymatic digestion duration are critical determinants for successful islet isolation.