Impact of the revision of the law on pancreatic transplants in Japan—An analysis of the Japanese Pancreas Transplants Registry

Taihei Ito, Takashi Kenmochi, Naohiro Aida, Kei Kurihara, Yoshito Tomimaru, Toshinori Ito

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: In Japan, it has been about 10 years since the revision of the law on donating brain-dead organs. The present study compared the outcomes of pancreatic transplant before and after the revision of the law. Methods: The 437 patients who had received pancreas transplantation were divided into two groups according to the time when pancreas transplantation was performed between era 1 (before the revision) and 2 (after the revision), and compared in the patient and pancreas graft survival. Results: While the annual number of brain-dead donors was <10 in era 1, and this number significantly increased in era 2 to >50. This resulted in an increased number of pancreas transplantations: >30 cases per year. The comparison data after a propensity score-matched analysis revealed that the death-censored pancreatic graft survival at 1, 3, and 5 years after pancreas transplantation in era 2 was 94.9%, 92.0%, and 92.0%, which, while lacking significance, tended to be better than the values of 90.5%, 83.1%, and 78.2%, respectively, in era 1. Conclusions: The revision of the law on donating brain-dead organs increased the number of pancreas transplantations. Technical improvements in surgery due to increased experience with performing pancreas transplants may help improve pancreatic graft survival.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)353-364
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Sciences
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 04-2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Surgery
  • Hepatology

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