title: OPTN/SRTR 2012 Annual Data Report: pancreas.
abstract: The number of pancreas transplants has decreased over the past decade, most notably numbers of pancreas after kidney (pak) and pancreas transplant alone (pta) procedures. This decrease may be mitigated in the future when changes to national pancreas allocation policy approved by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Board of Directors in 2010 are implemented. The new policy will combine waiting lists for pak, pta, and simultaneous pancreas-kidney (spk) transplants), and give equal priority to candidates for all three procedures. This policy change may also eliminate geographic variation in waiting times caused by geographic differences in allocation policy. Deceased donor pancreas donation rates have been declining since 2005, and the donation rate remains low. The outcomes of pancreas grafts are difficult to describe due to lack of a uniform definition of graft failure in the transplant community. However long-term survival is better for spk versus pak and pta transplants. This may represent the difficulty of detecting rejection in the absence of a simultaneously transplanted kidney. The challenges of pancreas transplant are reflected in high rates of rehospitalization, most occurring within the first 6 months posttransplant. Pancreas transplant is associated with higher incidence of rejection compared with kidney transplant.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Israni
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Skeans
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gustafson
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Schnitzler
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wainright
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Carrico
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kades
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kandaswamy
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Kasiske
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014850:Waiting Lists / Q000401:mortality
keywords: Pancreas after kidney transplant, pancreas allocation policy; pancreas transplant alone; simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant