Introduction
Diabetes is a condition caused due to lack of insulin activity, commonly this is the result of diminished production of insulin but sometimes there appears to be some interference with its function. The condition is a disease complex of mixed etiology and the manifestations are the result of biochemical abnormalities induced by an inability to control carbohydrate metabolism. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. Diabetes is serious, but people with diabetes can live long, healthy, happy lives.
Pancreas Transplantation
Even though the concept had been around for decades, it was only in the late 1960s that doctors began to see successful outcomes from combined kidney and pancreas transplants. On the down side, patients who received combined pancreas and kidney transplants did run a greater risk of death during or immediately after surgery than those who undergo kidney transplants alone (Bohman et al, 1984). This led critics of pancreas transplantation to characterize the procedure as experimental and even dangerous. Gradually, however, the success rate of pancreas transplantation has improved. In people with type 1 diabetes, the islet cells in the pancreas no longer produce insulin. So it seems logical that giving a new pancreas to a person with type 1 diabetes would cure their disease. Usually it does (Sollinger et al, 1998).
But the cure can be worse than the disease. The body has a complex system for telling its own parts from foreign parts......
