Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by a deficiency of insulin secretion by beta islet cells. Integral pancreatic transplantation and islet cell transplantation represent two possibilities of replacing the beta islet cells. The aim of this paper is to analyze the main aspects of selection criteria of the pancreas donor and surgical methods of preservation for integral pancreas or islet cell transplantation. There are described the pancreas procurements realized by the Center of General Surgery and Liver Transplantation team from Fundeni Clinical Institute between December 2005-December 2006 and correlation between the donor's and pancreas features and the quality of islet cell isolation. The selection of pancreas donor and the accomplishment of pancreas procurement represent important factors in the post-transplantation course of the graft. The data from pancreas/islet cell transplantation centers suggest that the factors that influence positively the course of graft are: the donor's age, body mass index, cold ischemia time.