CITR - Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry

The Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR) represents the collaborative efforts of a growing number of North American islet transplant centers. The results from its inaugural year have been published, which represent four years of data reporting 86 islet transplant recipients' data, as well as data on processed pancreata and ensuing infusions (Close et al., 2005). Of the data presented, it is noteworthy to state that after 12 months after the last islet transfusion, almost 58% of recipients were reported to be insulin-free and that no fatalities have resulted from the transplants. CITR is poised to provide up-to-date and accurate information on the clinically important outcomes in islet transplantation in North America and therefore facilitate the integration of islet transplantation procedures into diabetes care.

In 2001, the Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR - www.citregistry.org) was established by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in response to the need in compiling and analyzing the data from the growing number of transplant centers performing islet transplants (Close et al., 2003). A coordinating center, located at the EMMES Corp., provides support for logistics, data capture, quality control monitoring, statistical design and analysis, along with other CITR activities. By representing the collaborative effort amongst islet transplant centers in North America, CITR's mission is to "expedite progress and promote safety in islet/beta cell transplantation through the collection, analysis, and communication of comprehensive and current data on all islet/beta cell transplantations performed in North America" (Close et al., 2005).

CITR Methodology

This first annual report represents twelve (12) participating islet transplant centers that joined CITR during its first year. The data from 86 transplant patients are presented, as well as the data on 173 processed pancreata that lead to 158 islet infusion procedures. The average patient follow-up time from the last infusion was 7.5 months. CITR collects all data via its online data retrieval system, validates it, and checks for errors. All participants have the ability to review their data and make corrections prior to the closure date. All data in this report was collected by November 30, 2003.

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