**3. Use of the pancreas for whole organ or cellular transplantation donor selection**

Underpinning the entire transplantation process, regardless of whether the donor is for whole pancreas or islet cell transplantation, is appropriate donor selection such that the donor organ is of a suitable size and quality to allow for use in either type of therapy. In order to be utilized in clinical transplantation, it is imperative that the donor be appropriately screened to ensure the organ to be retrieved is free from any disease that may subsequently manifest in the donor, including cancer, and infections with viruses, bacteria, fungi, or prions [9]. It is paramount that we avoid the more commonly occurring diseases when screening the donor before accepting the pancreas for organ donor retrieval and subsequent clinical transplantation. Infectious risk factors depend on the history of patient, any underlying disease of the organ donor, and the immunosuppressive treatment administered to the recipient [35]. Transmission of most pathogens is possible, but their frequency varies according to the endemic population from the transplanted organ, the selected immunosuppressive therapy and prophylaxis utilized in the recipient, and also at the donor procedure [36]. Obviously, there are many more variables with regards to organ donor selection criteria, and these will be discussed in more detail in the following sections.
