Viability of the islets of Langerhans after warm ischemia as judged by isologous transplantation

Abstract

The influence of warm ischemia on pancreatic islet viability was studied by means of 63 isologous transplantations in adult AGUS rats. The pancreases were harvested 0, 20 and 40 min after circulatory arrest. The islets were isolated with collagenase and transplanted intra-portally in known numbers into streptozotocin-diabetic recipients. The islet-dose-metabolic-response relationships in three groups of recipients were compared. No significant difference was found in the quantitative yield. The smallest number of islets which reversed diabetes increased by 25% after a period of warm ischemia regardless of its duration.