News Line

Temple University Hospital Adds Pancreas Transplants to Its Array of Transplantation Services

Temple University Hospital has added pancreas transplant surgery to its abdominal organ transplantation services after receiving approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Considered the only potential cure for Type 1 diabetes, pancreas transplants can help greatly enhance the quality of life for many of Temple’s kidney transplant patients.

“A pancreas transplant can help preserve a new kidney by restoring normal sugar control and eliminating the need for insulin injections in patients with type I diabetes,” said John A. Daller, MD, PhD, Director of the Abdominal Organ Transplant Program. “It can also arrest or reverse many co-morbidities often associated with diabetes – such as vascular disease.”

The new pancreas transplant team will be lead by Andreas Karachristos, MD, PhD, transplant surgeon and Serban Constantinescu, MD, PhD, transplant nephrologist.

Temple surgeons have already listed their first two patients on the national organ transplant waiting list.

A regional leader in transplantation services, Temple University Hospital performs transplants of all solid organs (kidneys, lungs, hearts, and pancreas). Since 1989, more than 1,500 transplants have been performed at Temple University Hospital.

Date Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008

back  |  view all news