Pancreas Transplantation

Your primary care physician, a referring physician, insurance case managers and other transplant centers can make a referral for a patient to be evaluated for transplantation appropriateness here.

During an outpatient clinic evaluation visit, our goal is to have all the pre-transplant initial testing, lab work (including tissue typing) and clinical testing, education, social work consultation and surgeon interview completed in one day.

You will take part in a comprehensive education program that details the surgical procedure, medications, recovery and rehabilitation associated with the transplant process.

Every patient being evaluated for pancreas transplant will have a psychosocial assessment with a social worker to help determine if a transplant candidate has the psychological stability, motivation and personal support to meet the challenges of transplantation. Before the appointment, you will complete a psychosocial survey that will be reviewed during the evaluation.

After the psychosocial evaluation is complete, a report is sent to the transplant team with a recommendation about your suitability for transplant from a psychosocial perspective.

It is preferred that these tests be completed at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, but depending on your geographic location or payer preference, they may be completed closer to your home.

The transplant team evaluates the information gathered and determines whether transplantation is appropriate. We will also determine what additional information is needed prior to placing you on the transplant list. A referral could be made to Cardiology, Pulmonary, Infectious Disease or other services as warranted.

After your evaluation is complete, we will send follow-up letters to the referring physician and your insurance company.

If approved for transplant listing, the final step involves approval by the Ohio Solid Organ Transplantation Consortium (OSOTC). When approved by the OSOTC, you are then listed for pancreas transplantation on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) national waiting list. A letter is sent to your insurance company providing recommendations for transplantation and requesting approval.

You may receive a donated pancreas from a deceased donor who has previously registered to become an organ donor or the family wishes to donate. Please be prepared to wait as long as three to five years for a pancreas from a deceased donor. In addition, the donor must have a blood type compatible with yours and be similar in body weight and size to you. Each potential donor also must be screened very carefully for disease, infection or trauma to ensure that you receive a healthy pancreas.

You must be reachable by phone at all times. When a pancreas becomes available for you, you will be notified by the pre-transplant coordinator and admitted to the Transplant Unit on the ninth floor of Rhodes Hall.

You will have multiple lab tests done to ensure you are ready for transplant. You will be given a number of medications, including antibiotics, antifungals and immunosuppression medications.

Ideally, surgery is performed as soon as the organ is available. However, using the latest perfusion techniques, we are able to transplant a pancreas within an average of 12 hours of recovery. The surgery will generally last four to six hours.

Following your admission, your referring physician and insurance company are notified of your transplant.

After your surgery, you will be admitted to the Transplant Unit. Your hospital stay is typically five to 14 days, depending on complications and your condition.

You will be seen daily by the transplant surgeons, midlevel providers and discharge coordinators. You’ll receive individualized education from floor nurses and attend education classes on medication and general discharge instructions. The discharge coordinators manage your care process, communicate with insurance case managers and plan for discharge. A social worker will visit you to address any psychosocial issues associated with the transplant.

A post-transplant coordinator also will call shortly after discharge to answer any remaining questions and to discuss long-term follow-up with the transplant program.

Once you are discharged, you are followed on an outpatient basis with vital signs and laboratory profiles two times a week for the first three months post-transplant. Lab profiles are evaluated by a transplant coordinator and a transplant surgeon.

You will be seen again in the outpatient clinic at six weeks post-transplant, three months post-transplant, six months post-transplant, one year post-transplant and at any other time in between if warranted. You will be seen annually thereafter, unless more frequent visits are required. After you are released by your surgeon, you will be seen by the Transplant Medicine Service. Lab frequency is reduced as you progress.

We will communicate with your referring physician at the beginning and end of each hospitalization, as well as with each outpatient clinic visit.

Because of the many interactions of other medications with immunosuppressives, please check with the post-transplant office prior to filling any prescription.

This doctor who specializes in pancreas transplants will follow you before, during and after your transplant. They will complete a physical exam and discuss testing that is needed to prepare you for your pancreas transplant.

This doctor will perform your pancreas transplant surgery. They will discuss the risks and benefits related to surgery and assist you in understanding what to expect after receiving your transplant.

These doctors, who specialize in infectious diseases, will follow you before and after your transplant (if needed) to reduce risk of infection.

The advanced practice providers include physician assistants and nurse practitioners who work closely with your physician to ensure continuity of care throughout your stay at the hospital and your transition to outpatient care. He or she orders and monitors diagnostic tests and treatments, responds to urgent needs, diagnoses and treats problems if they arise and provides the educational tools and resources necessary to continue success with your transplant once you are discharged.

These are nurses who will be your primary contact from the time you are referred for a transplant evaluation throughout your care here. They will help answer any questions you may have and assist you throughout your transplant experience.

These professionals meet with you to evaluate your psychological readiness for transplantation.

A transplant pharmacist is a pharmacist who specifically works with patients who have received a transplanted organ. This pharmacist has been trained to understand details about anti-rejection medications, works closely with your transplant physician to help manage your medications and helps answer medication questions you may have.

The pharmacy patient coordinator offers assessment, linkage and referrals for assistance to patients who need certain medications and have high co-pays or no prescription drug coverage.

Contact: 800-626-2538

The list of accepted insurances for pancreas transplant can often change. Please contact your health care insurance provider to confirm your coverage for transplant at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Ohio State's Tissue Typing Laboratory ensures that an organ is compatible with its recipient. The process involves matching a person's unique configuration of six human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules with a potential pool of approximately 100 different varieties.

Cross-match testing helps prevent some types of organ rejection. The testing involves mixing cells from the donor's and recipient's serum to determine whether rejection-promoting antibodies will occur. This information helps your physicians plan for the right medication strategy to best control organ rejection.

Transplant support testing includes monitoring new drugs that patients use, testing to determine a patient's overall ability to maintain a recipient's organ and developing new tests to support many of the clinical aspects of transplantation.

Organ transplant affects a person’s body, spirit and life in numerous ways. Adjusting to these changes can often be easier with the assistance of others with similar experiences.

Open to all Ohio State’s abdominal transplant recipients AND waitlisted kidney, pancreas and liver patients, Ohio State’s Abdominal Transplant Support Group offers an emotionally supportive community before and after the transplant journey and is one of many additional, optional resources offered to benefit our transplant patients. 

• What: Ohio State's Abdominal Transplant Support Group
• Who: Transplant recipients (liver, kidney and/or pancreas) and patients waitlisted for transplant
• Date: Weekly, every Thursday
• Time: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• Location: Virtual - click HERE to join meeting

For questions or concerns, please call the transplant social work office at 614-366-3273.