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Types of Kidney and Pancreas Transplants​

We offer several types of transplants at UPMC's Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program in Pittsburgh, Pa. Your transplant team will determine the best option based on your pretransplant evaluation.


Kidney Transplants

Deceased-donor kidney transplants are the most common type of kidney transplant. However, we also perform living-donor kidney transplants at UPMC.

Deceased-donor kidney transplant ​Living-donor kidney transplant
Kidneys come from carefully screened, deceased-donors to ensure the kidney is suitable for transplant. ​A healthy individual — often a blood relative, close acquaintance, or a stranger (altruistic) — provides a kidney for the patient. In some cases, donors who meet eligibility requirements can participate in a kidney exchange. (PDF) 
Because patients undergoing a deceased-donor transplant are on a waitlist for a kidney donor, it's unknown when the transplant surgery will occur. ​We can schedule living-donor transplant surgery to allow time for both the patient and donor to prepare and make necessary arrangements.

Pancreas Transplant

This type of transplant benefits people with type 1 diabetes or pancreatic disease who still have functioning kidneys, but experience severe shifts in glucose levels.

Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplant

This type of transplant benefits people with type 1 diabetes whose kidneys are failing or have already failed and require both a new kidney and pancreas. Surgeons transplant both the kidney and pancreas from the same donor during one surgery.

Pancreas-After-Kidney Transplant

People who remain diabetic following a kidney transplant may receive this type of transplant to prevent any future damage to the new kidney. Surgeons transplant the pancreas following a successful kidney transplant.

Auto-Islet Transplant

This innovative type of transplant may be an option for people with chronic inflammation of the pancreas. Surgeons isolate the islet cells — the cells that produce insulin — and return them to the patient through a catheter leading to the liver. This allows the islet cells to once again produce insulin.

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