The EPITA community celebrated another successful year, hosting the EPITA Symposium, the largest meeting in Europe focused on beta cell replacement, which includes pancreas and islet transplantation as well as stem cell-derived insulin-secreting cells. This event emphasised the importance of knowledge sharing among scientists, clinicians, and healthcare professionals, providing a platform to discuss the latest developments in cellular therapies and organ transplantation.
During the 14th EPITA Symposium, several key topics were highlighted, including the impact of gender and ethnicity on pancreas transplantation. While the influence of race on health outcomes following kidney transplantation is well-documented, racial disparities in pancreas transplantation outcomes remain poorly understood. A growing body of literature has begun to evaluate the isolated and combined effects of donor and recipient sex on outcomes after solid organ transplantation. Additionally, updates were provided on the real-world implementation of machine perfusion, examining the use of cold vs. warm machine perfusion for beta cell replacement. Extended criteria donors’ grafts are generally more susceptible to ischemic injury and are often associated with a higher rate of early allograft dysfunction. A talk addressing the challenges of ischemia-reperfusion related to “injuries during pancreas preservation in clinical scenarios” generated significant interest.
Another major breakthrough discussed was pancreatic islet cryopreservation, which shows promise for curing diabetes. Special attention was given to the pancreas workshop led by Peter Girman, which provided insights into the percutaneous biopsy of pancreatic grafts guided by ultrasound.
The last day of the Symposium, we celebrated the EPITA Symposium 2025 awardees:
Francesco Campo – BEST ORAL PRESENTATION [BASIC SCIENCE] with the presentation: Bio-fabrication of a Human iPSC-based vascularized endocrine pancreas for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes
Yun Suk Chae – BEST ORAL PRESENTATION [CLINICAL] with the presentation: The use of extended culture for combined donor islet transplantations and its effects on isolated islet quality
Sarah Suergiu – BEST POSTER with the poster: The rate of pancreatic islet volume reduction in culture after isolation
All of this progress would not have been possible without the contributions of attendees from around the world, the generous sponsors and the amazing faculty.
