Living with a pancreas transplant

Find out when you can go back to work, drive again, go on holiday and exercise.

Find out how to best look after yourself when you return home from a pancreas transplant.

Eating well and doing moderate exercise will help your recovery.

Learn about the medicines you will need to take after a pancreas transplant and how they might affect you.

What to watch out for after a pancreas transplant and when to seek medical advice.

Find out about treatment centres, support groups, and primary care teams

You may be able to start trying for a baby a year after your transplant.

After a pancreas transplant, many patients like to write to their donor’s family. Your letter can be a great comfort to the donor’s family. Please speak to the nurses and doctors looking after you to get advice on how to do this.

As the risk of infection is higher after a transplant, it’s important to have a flu jab every year. Please note, transplant patients must not have live vaccines (the flu jab is NOT a live vaccine). Your pancreas care team and your GP can tell you which vaccines are safe for you.

The risks of cancer are higher in patients with a transplant than the general population. Please attend cancer screening programmes if you receive an invitation. The ones that are currently active in the UK are for breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer. Screening tests are also done for abdominal aortic aneurysms.