Pancreas transplantation: report from the International Registry and a preliminary analysis of United States results from the New United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Registry.

This report contains information on analysis of 2,292 pancreas transplants worldwide reported to the International Pancreas Transplant Registry from 1966 through 1989, with 1-year recipient survival rates improving from 39% to 71% to 80% to 87% and 1-year graft survival rates from 5% to 26% to 40% to 56% for 1966 to 1977 (n = 64), 1977 to 1983 (n = 336), 1984 to 1985 (n = 364), and 1986 to 1989 (n = 1,220) cases, respectively. The last 2 eras were combined for analyses of multiple variables. In the analyses of all world cases for the 1984 to 1989 period (n = 1,604), the most important finding was the influence of HLA-DR matching or mismatching on pancreas graft survival rates; 1-year function rates for grafts in recipients matched for 2, 1, or 0 DR antigens with the donor were 73% (n = 52), 53%, (n = 468), and 48% (n = 67) (p less than 0.005 for all comparisons). Likewise, in an analysis of 1984 to 1989 cases according to DR mismatching, the 1-year graft survival rates with 0, 1, or 2 DR mismatches were 63% (n = 128), 50% (n = 583), and 49% (496) (p less than 0.02). An analysis of the 1986 to 1989 era cases worldwide confirms the trend in the period analysis for bladder drainage (BD) to be associated with significantly higher graft survival rates than intestinal drainage or duct injection, at 1-year being 59% (n = 656), 47% (n = 97), and 54% (n = 210). Likewise, for the 1986 to 1989 era, worldwide 1-year pancreas graft functional survival rates were significantly higher in recipients of simultaneous-pancreas/kidney transplants (SPK) than in recipients of pancreas-after-kidney (PAK) or a pancreas-transplant-alone (PTA); 63% (n = 865), 45% (n = 186), and 37% (n = 165). In a new analysis of the United States cases reported to the UNOS Registry from October 1, 1987 through June 30, 1989, 1-year patient and graft survival rates were 91% and 69%. Almost all United States cases reported to the UNOS Registry during 1987 to 1989 were with BD (n = 324).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)