Combined Kidney and Pancreas Transplant

A simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant is for patients with kidney failure and insulin-dependent diabetes

Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health , Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple offer combined Kidney-Pancreas transplants. Getting a pancreas transplant at the same time as a kidney transplant can restore normal insulin production and improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes.

The dual transplant functions better than a kidney alone because the new pancreas protects the transplanted kidney from the harmful effects of diabetes. As a result, the new kidney performs better and longer in the kidney/pancreas transplant recipient.

Patients at Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute typically have shorter wait times for a kidney-pancreas transplant than at other transplant centers throughout Texas.

Where do the organs come from?

Both the kidney and pancreas may come from one deceased donor, but it is possible for the kidney to come from a living donor and the pancreas from a deceased donor.

For pancreas-after-kidney transplant, the kidney must function at a least 60 percent and be stable for at least 6 months.