What care should a patient receive after a pancreatic islet cell transplantation?

Answer 1

Islet cell transplantation is done for Type I Diabetics to replace the pancreatic cells, called the Islets of Langerhans, that have been destroyed by the body's own immune system in an autoimmune disorder. It may not be a covered procedure by health insurance since some insurance companies still consider it an experimental procedure.

Recovery time from the procedure itself is minimal. However, current technology requires that patients continuously remain on immunosuppressive drugs (also known as anti-rejection drugs) for life to avoid rejection of the transplanted islet cells. These drugs, used to prevent further autoimmune disease and destruction of the foreign cells that came from a donor, have significant side effects. Some of those are: increased risk and incidence of bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Mouth sores, GI/stomach upset and diarrhea are common. The drugs reduce the white blood cells in the blood so that the body no longer can adequately fight infections (these are suppressed to prevent attacks on the transplanted tissue). Other side effects are decreased kidney function, increased cholesterol, hypertension, anemia, and fatigue.