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Byline: S. A. White (1), D. P. Hughes (1), H. H. Contractor (1), N. J. M. London (1) Keywords: Key words Collagen; Pancreas; Porcine; Islet transplantation; Islets of Langerhans Abstract: One of the difficulties of porcine islet isolation is their fragility during collagenase digestion. The object of this study was to determine the distribution of 4 different collagen types within adult and juvenile porcine pancreata. Five different areas from each pancreas were analysed by light microscopy. The distribution of collagen types I, IV, V and VI were measured within the interlobar, intralobular (acinar), peri-insular and intra-islet regions. Their was an abundance of collagen type VI compared to I, IV and V in both the interlobar and intralobular septa in both juveniles (P&lt 0.001) and adults (P&lt 0.001). The peri-insular collagen content also showed diversity. This was mainly attributable to the distribution of collagen type I (weak) and type VI (intense) in both adults and juveniles. In general, the peri-insular capsule was fragmentary and contained less than 50% of the total islet circumference. The latter finding taken together with the distributions of different collagen types can partly explain some of the variability of porcine islet isolation. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Surgery, University of Leicester, PO Box 65, Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester, UK, GB