Pancreatic Islet Biobanking Facilities in India: The Need of the Hour to Deal with Diabetes?

Endocrine pancreas regulates glucose homeostasis and prevents diabetes. Type-1 diabetes is characterized by destruction of the insulin secreting β-cells within the endocrine pancreatic islets, resulting in lower insulin release. People with type-1 diabetes can be transplanted with pancreatic islets obtained from deceased donors which restores the β-cell function. There are around 70 human islet isolation centers around the world which mostly collect endocrine pancreas from deceased donors. They assess the islet yield, functionality, viability, secretory capacity, and purity for transplantation and distribute this to donors. They also distribute a part of the pancreatic tissue for research, so that the cellular mechanisms in the human pancreatic tissue can be understood. This is crucial since human islet tissue has a unique cytoarchitecture compared to murine counterparts and therefore islet research with murine islets does not give complete picture of diabetes in humans. India is poised to take the mantle of the diabetes capital of the world in the near future. Despite this, there are no human islet isolation centers which can facilitate islet transplantation and diabetes research in India. This article highlights the glaring gap in the current infrastructure for diabetes care and provides critical insights into the role and potential of setting up islet tissue banks in the most populous country of the world.