There are three main types of pancreas transplantation:
Pancreas transplant alone,
for the patient with type 1 diabetes who usually has severe, frequent hypoglycemia, but adequate kidney function.
Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant (SPK),
when the pancreas and kidney are transplanted simultaneously from the same deceased donor. One of the most serious complications of type 1 diabetes is end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or end-stage kidney disease, which may require a kidney transplant. A kidney transplant without a pancreas transplant means you must take anti rejection medication for the kidney and continue to take insulin.The possibility of diabetes damaging the new kidney and other organs also remains. Successful combined kidney-pancreas transplants prevent diabetic damage in newly transplanted kidneys as well as eliminate the need for insulin therapy. In the best case scenario, a patient would receive a new kidney and pancreas from the same donor.
Pancreas-after-kidney transplant (PAK) ,
when a deceased, donor pancreas transplant is performed after a previous kidney transplant.