Transplant Center

Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Program

Pancreas and Kidney/Pancreas Transplantation

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Note: This is for informational purposes only. Doctors cannot provide a diagnosis or individual treatment advice via e-mail. Please consult your physician about your specific health care concerns.

Pancreas transplantation offers the best approach for a long-term cure to diabetes. The Pancreas Transplant Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center is the second largest isolated pancreas transplant center in the United States and has been internationally recognized for innovative work, excellent outcomes, and expertise.

Pancreas transplantation at the University of Maryland can be performed as an isolated procedure or at the same time as living or deceased donor kidney transplantation.

Pancreas Transplant Alone (PTA): Isolated pancreas transplantation in patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.
Pancreas After Kidney (PAK): Pancreas transplantation performed after recovery from successful living or deceased donor kidney transplantation.
Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney (SPK) Transplantation: Combined kidney and pancreas organ transplantation from a single deceased organ donor curing both renal failure and diabetes in a single operation. In addition to insulin dependent diabetic patients (Type 1), select patients with components of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Type 2) are considered appropriate candidates for this procedure.
Simultaneous Pancreas and Living Donor Kidney (SPLK) Transplantation: Patients with suitable living donors for kidney transplantation are timed in conjunction with the availability of a pancreas from a deceased donor. Similar to SPK, a single operation cures both the renal failure and diabetes with the superior outcomes of a living donor. The University of Maryland Medical Center has pioneered and performed the most of this procedure compared to any other medical center.

Surgeons at University of Maryland Medical Center also have expertise in complicated cases of pancreas re-transplantation. Patients with a prior successful pancreas transplant that may have failed over years to decades may decide to pursue re-transplantation. Surgeons with expertise in re-transplantation and the more complicated technical approaches required in such patients have achieved excellent outcomes.

Patients receiving pancreas transplantation at University of Maryland Medical Center also benefit from immunosuppressive protocols that eliminate the need for steroids after the first few weeks and then require only two immunosuppressive medications. The avoidance of lifelong steroids is achievable in most patients and desirable for most recipients.

If you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services, please call 410-328-5408 or 1-800-492-5538.

This page was last updated on: February 2, 2011.