Pancreas transplantation status at Kyushu University Hospital: Clinical profiles of 40 patients on waiting list

We studied the clinical profiles of 40 patients on a waiting list for pancreas transplantation. The type of transplantation was simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation in 36, pancreas after kidney transplantation in 3 and pancreas transplantation alone in 1. They had a mean age of 37±1 years, a female-to-male ratio of 2.6 (11 men, 29 women), mean age at diabetes onset of 14±1 years, that at dialysis start of 33±1 years, and mean HbA1c of 7.7±0.3%. Anti-GAD autoantibody > 10 U/ m/ was in 17%. Nondiabetic kidney disease coexisted in 2 patients, and hemodialysis was done in 90% as renal replacement therapy. Severely impaired visual acuity (<0.1) was present in 25% and neuropathy was advanced, although macroangiopathy was rather modest. Three patients died while waiting for transplantation (wait and cause of death : hypoglycemia at 2 months, brain hemorrhage at 30 months, and subarachnoid hemorrhage at 75 months). The shortage of donors is so serious that the number of waiting patients increases relentlessly. Our results strongly indicate that organ donation should be promoted more vigorously in Japan.