Clinical outcomes of pancreas transplantation were superior to that of islet transplantation until the introduction of the
Edmonton protocol. Significant advances in islet isolation and purification technology, novel immunosuppression and tolerance
strategies, and effective antiviral prophylaxis have renewed interest in clinical islet transplantation for the treatment
of diabetes mellitus. The introduction of a steroid-free antirejection protocol and islets prepared from two donors led to
high rates of insulin independence. The Edmonton protocol has been successfully replicated by other centers in an international
multicenter trial. A number of key refinements in pancreas transportation, islet preparation, and newer immunological conditioning
and induction therapies have led to continued advancement through extensive collaboration between key centers. This chapter
provides an overview of the history of islet transplantation followed by a discussion of the state of the art of clinical
islet transplantation. The challenges facing the clinicianscientist in the 21st century are also presented in this review.
Key Words Type 1 diabetes – transplantation – islet cell – islet isolation – Edmonton protocol