Isolation of Porcine Pancreatic Islets for Xenotransplantation

This chapter deals with a technique for isolating intact islets of Langerhans from the pig pancreas based on our experience performing approximately 750 isolations. The procedure we describe involves identification of an optimal donor pancreas, purification and in vitro culture of islets, diabetes induction in recipients, and transplantation of islets and their immunomodulation. Besides the sophistication of the technical equipment employed, the major factors influencing the isolation outcome are the pig breed, the number and morphology of the islets in the donor pancreas, the quality of the collagenase/neutral protease, and the skill of the team members.