Improve islet yields and quality when clinical grade pancreata are preserved by the two-layer method.

BACKGROUND: Research grade pancreata preserved by the two-layer method (TLM) yield significantly greater numbers of islets than organs stored with University of Wisconsin solution (UW). The goal of this study was to determine whether this would hold true for pancreata that meet selection criteria for clinical grade organs. METHODS: Pancreata were chosen based upon a pre-defined set of criteria used for selecting clinical grade pancreata. Thirteen of these organs were preserved in UW and five pancreata were preserved by the TLM. Islets were isolated and evaluated according to the Edmonton protocol. RESULTS: The average preservation time was significantly longer for organ preserved with TLM (9.5 + 2.0 h) as compared to UW (5.8 + 0.6 h, p = 0.015). The pancreata of TLM group resulted in a significant increase in islet yields (3588 +/- 500 vs. 2536 +/- 312 IE/g pancreas, p<0.05). Visual scoring of islets indicated that islets were better from TLM group (8.3 +/- 0.3 vs. 7.3 +/- 0.2), and islet survival rates after culture were higher from organs stored with the TLM (87 +/- 17 vs. 55 +/- 7.4, p<0.05). Other parameters such as viability, insulin content, and stimulation index were similar between the two groups. All the preparations from the TLM group, but only 54% of preparations from the UW group, qualified for islet transplantation. The two recipients receiving islets from TLM group, daily insulin requirements were reduced and C-peptide levels were increased. CONCLUSION: Compared to storage with UW, exposure of pancreata to the TLM resulted in greater islet yields and improved quality of islets despite longer preservation period. Consequently, pancreata that meet clinical grade status should be preserved by the TLM prior to islet isolation.

Donor age and gender are the strongest predictors of marrow recovery from cadaveric vertebral bodies.

The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to determine whether there were donor factors that were useful for predicting the yield of nucleated cells from marrow derived from cadaveric vertebral bodies. An analysis of 132 donors over a 6-year period was performed. The average number of vertebral bodies procured from each donor was 10.2 +/- 1.6 (range 5-14). The total number of nucleated cells recovered per donor ranged from 24 x 10(9) to 160 x 10(9) with an average recovery of 69 +/- 28 x 10(9) cells. The cell viability of the recovered cells was > 95%. The average age of the donors was 33 +/- 14 years (mean +/- SD; range 12-65) with an average weight of 169 +/- 41 lb (range 82-308 lb). Males comprised 68% of the donor population. The average number of days from admission to death was 1.9 +/- 1.7 with a range of 1-11.4 days and the interval between asystole and procurement averaged 3.1 +/- 2.3 h (range (0.1-14.7 h). The majority of donors died from head trauma due to an intracranial bleed, gunshot wound, or closed head injury. Regression analysis of the data indicated that the total nucleated cell yield tended to decrease with increasing time between hospital admission and death. The data also indicated that in general female donors yielded lower cell numbers independent of age and male donors under 30 years of age yielded the highest number of cells.