More than 38 million Americans are living with diabetes. While many manage the condition with medication, for some, a pancreas transplant offers the only chance for a healthier life.
Right now, over 800 people are on the national waiting list for this life-saving surgery, but only a fraction will receive one.
However, a groundbreaking new method of preserving donor pancreases is offering hope to those waiting.
The Pancreas Pak actively preserves and monitors a donor pancreas for almost 10 hours on its journey. The technology could significantly improve the odds for those awaiting surgery.
“The pancreas itself is a bit of a finicky organ,” explained Dr. Matthew Hunter Witt, a transplant surgeon at the Tampa General Hospital Transplant Institute.
Typically, a donor pancreas is transported in a cooler. But parts of the organ can get too cool … or too warm.
“It can cause damage that’s not seen on the outside, but at the cellular level,” Witt explained.
But Witt’s team at TGH was the first in the world to receive a donor pancreas in the Pancreas Pak.
“The Pancreas Pak is a much more sophisticated system, and making sure that the fluid around the pancreas, the preservation solution that the pancreas graft is lying in, is between four and eight degrees Celsius. It has a built-in GPS unit,” said Witt.
Doctors say knowing exactly when the organ will arrive and having confidence it’s being kept at a consistent, optimal temperature eliminates some of the risks associated with traditional transport methods.
This innovation also allows transplant centers to expand the distance from which they’ll accept donor pancreases, going from a radius of 250 miles to as much as 500 miles, which could ultimately mean more transplants performed.