Pancreas Transplant Program

Overview

The Pancreas Transplant Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is led by expert transplant surgeons, endocrinologists and nephrologists who provide cutting-edge surgical and medical care across all stages of pancreas transplant procedures.

The pancreas is an organ that produces hormones that regulate the body’s sugar levels, with insulin being the most important.

Unfortunately, Type 1 diabetes destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This is called an autoimmune attack and occurs when the immune system mistakenly confuses the insulin producing cells as “foreign”.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Digestive Disease Institute provides innovative transplantation services to patients from across the region. Our center was the UAE’s first and only multi-organ transplant facility and has performed 386 transplants since its launch in 2017.

• 1st in UAE to Perform Pancreas Transplant
• UAE’s First Combined Kidney-Pancreas Transplant 
• Innovative Transplantation Services to Patients Across the Region
• 1st in UAE to Perform Complex Multi-Organ Transplants

When is a Transplant Needed?

Pancreas transplantation is the ultimate treatment for type 1 diabetes since it restores the cells that produce insulin (beta cells).

A pancreas transplant may be considered for the following:

• Diabetic patients who have trouble regulating their blood sugar with insulin injections and are at risk of dangerously high sugar with ketoacidosis.
• Diabetic patients with hypoglycemia unawareness, where the patient is no longer aware of the symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). The common symptoms of low blood sugar; dizziness, sweating and generally unwell feeling do not warn the patient of their condition until they are confused or become unresponsive.
• Type 1 diabetic patients with renal failure: In the case of renal failure, and the need for dialysis, a combined kidney and pancreas transplant should be considered as treatment.