Islet transplantation at the Diabetes Research Institute Japan

Since the Edmonton Protocol was announced, more than 600 patients with type 1 diabetes at more than 50 institutions have received islet transplantation to treat their disease. We recently established a new islet isolation protocol, called the Kyoto Islet Isolation Method, based on the Ricordi method. It includes an in-situ cooling system for pancreas procurement, pancreatic ductal protection, a modified two-layer (M-Kyoto /perfluorochemical [PFC]) method of pancreas preservation, and a new islet purification solution (Iodixanol-based solution). Using this islet isolation method, we isolated islets from 19 human pancreata of non-heart-beating donors and transplanted 16 preparations into seven patients with type 1 diabetes between April 7, 2004 and November 18, 2005. The percentage of those meeting the release criteria of the Edmonton Protocol was more than 80%. We also performed living-donor transplantation of islets for unstable diabetes on January 19, 2005. Establishment of this method enables us to make diabetic patients insulin-independent, using islets not only from two or three pancreata of non-heart-beating donors but also using islets from half a pancreas from a living donor.