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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Transplant.
Sec. Abdominal Transplantation
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frtra.2025.1517354

Donor after circulatory death (DCD) in pancreas transplantation: a scoping review of the literature Type of study: Scoping literature review

Provisionally accepted
Mathieu Chassot Mathieu Chassot 1Marc Scheen Marc Scheen 2*Andrea Peloso Andrea Peloso 3Compagnon Philippe Compagnon Philippe 4Fadi Haidar Fadi Haidar 2
  • 1 Centre Médical Universitaire, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 2 Service de Néphrologie, Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland
  • 3 Service de Chirurgie Viscérale, Service de Chirurgie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland
  • 4 Service de Transplantation, Service de chirurgie, Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG), Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The growing disparity between the demand for pancreas transplants and the availability of suitable organs underscores the urgent need for innovative donor strategies, including the utilization of donors after circulatory death (DCD). This systematic review presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of transplantation outcomes between DCD and donors after brain death (DBD), focusing on pancreatic graft survival, postoperative complications, and functional metrics such as graft performance and HbA1c levels. Although DCD grafts were suspected to be associated with higher rates of early complications, including delayed graft function and thrombosis, altogether resulting from potentially more ischemia-reperfusion injuries, their long-term outcomes are comparable to those of DBD grafts. This equivalence is likely driven by careful donor selection, a meticulous pancreas procurement, use of normothermic regional perfusion and a short ischemic time. The findings highlight the transformative potential of DCD donors in expanding the pancreas donor pool, addressing critical organ shortages, and enhancing transplant accessibility. This review advocates for the integration of DCD donors into routine clinical practice, emphasizing the need for optimized clinical protocols and organ allocation strategies. By leveraging DCD donors more effectively, the transplant community can make significant strides in improving patient outcomes and addressing the global organ shortage crisis.

    Keywords: Pancreas Transplantation, Donor after circulatory death, pancreas shortage, postoperative outcomes, Normothermic abdominal perfusion

    Received: 25 Oct 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Chassot, Scheen, Peloso, Philippe and Haidar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marc Scheen, Service de Néphrologie, Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.