Project summary
Pancreas transplants can be life‑changing for some people with type 1 diabetes, but many fail early. Rory Brown wants to understand why.
Because high blood sugar can increase inflammation, he’ll investigate whether inflammation around the time of transplant damages the transplanted pancreas. The findings could help to discover new ways to prevent life-saving pancreas transplants from failing.
Background to research
For some people with type 1 diabetes and life-threatening complications, like kidney failure or hypo unawareness, a pancreas transplant can be life-saving and life-changing. But around one in six pancreas transplants fail within five years, making it vital to understand why transplants do not always succeed.
Research shows that high blood sugar levels, either in people with type 1 receiving a transplant or organ donors is linked to a greater chance of transplant failure. Other research has found that inflammation after transplants can also lead to worse outcomes.
We know that high blood sugar can cause inflammation, but we don’t yet know if this is what’s driving some pancreas transplants to fail. Understanding this process could lead to better ways to protect the organ and improve long‑term results.
Research aims
Rory Brown and his team have designed two linked studies to investigate whether high blood sugar and inflammation together are linked to early pancreas transplant failure.
First, they’ll study people with type 1 diabetes who have previously received a pancreas transplant. Using existing health records from around 100 to 150 transplant recipients, the team will examine blood test results from the days after surgery. Working with clinical data scientists, they’ll look for patterns to see whether high blood sugar and inflammation are linked, and whether this increases the risk of the transplant failing early.
Next, the team will study donated blood samples from pancreas donors held in a national organ donation biobank. They’ll test these samples for markers of inflammation and stress that have not been explored before in pancreas transplant research. By comparing donors with higher blood sugar levels to those without, they aim to see whether high blood sugar and inflammation together are linked to poorer transplantation outcomes.
Potential benefit to people with diabetes
Pancreas transplants can transform lives for some people with type 1 diabetes, but too many fail early. By showing whether high blood sugar and inflammation drive early transplant failure, this study could guide future research and changes in care, including tighter blood sugar control after surgery. Over time, this could help more transplants last longer, improve quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes, and reduce waiting times for others still in urgent need of a transplant.
