Establishing an islet transplantation program in a developing country.
Diabetes is an emerging epidemic throughout the world. In our city alone, there are approximately 25,000 known diabetics (5% to 10% type 1) among a total population of 1.7 million inhabitants, and the incidence is increasing among all age groups. Islet transplantation is a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. For this reason, we intended to establish an islet transplantation program. This required competent and well-trained professionals, a specially planned facility adhering to rigid regulations regarding safety and sterility, and a detailed study of the ethical laws and rules involving transplantation. In this article, we describe the process including any difficulties or barriers encountered due to limited resources in a developing country. We also describe all stages of personnel training and the necessary equipment and work area of a similar specialized center following the guidelines of the Brazilian National Agency for Health Care. Finally, we discuss our expectations for the initial phase of our islet transplantation program.
Sotta
E D
ED
Human Islet Isolation Laboratory, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
Madalozzo
T M
TM
Percegona
L
L
Pereira
J
J
Bignelli
A
A
Senegaglia
A
A
Pecoits-Filho
R
R
Riella
M C
MC
D001938:Brazil; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003906:Developing Countries; D006801:Humans; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States