Islet transplantation is the
transplantation of isolated islets from a donor
pancreas and into another person. It is an experimental treatment for
type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to produce
insulin, actively regulating the level of
glucose in the
blood. Islets are usually infused into the patient's
liver,. The patient's body, however, will treat the infused islets just as it would any other introduction of foreign tissue: the
immune system will attack the islets as it would a viral infection, leading to the risk of
transplant rejection. Thus, the patient needs to undergo treatment involving
immunosuppressants, which reduce immune system activity. Recent studies have shown that islet transplantation has progressed to the point that 58% of the patients in one study were insulin independent one year after the operation.
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