PORCINE ISLET ISOLATION FROM PANCREAS OF HEART-BEATING DONOR: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Xenotransplantation of isolated pig islets have been regarded as the future treatment of choice for patients with type I diabetes. The parameters influencing islet isolation outcome are related to donor characteristics and pancreas procurement process. Warm ischaemia time (WIT) is one of the crucial factors influencing islet isolation efficacy. Therefore the aim of this study was to establish a method of pig pancreas procurement from heartbeating donors and impact on isolation outcome. The pancreatomy was performed after anesthesia followed by intraductal injection of the cold University of Wisconsin solution. Digestion procedure was carried out according to stationary method using a two-component enzyme blend of Collagenase NB8 and Neutral Protease (Serva). Reduction of the warm ischaemia time were feasible under laboratorial condition as far as application of Serva two-component enzyme blend for pig islet isolation.