March 31, 2003
Transplants
Question from Brighton, Sussex, England:
My four year old little girl has type 1 diabetes. Would it be possible for my islet cells to be transplanted to her? If so, would this circumnavigate the need for immunosuppressants? I appreciate that if this were possible I would then myself become insulin dependent.
Answer:
Great idea, but this already has been tried and still requires immunosuppression. You could be a donor, and the surgeons would take a portion of your pancreas from the tail of the pancreas. This usually leaves the donors enough beta cells so that you do not have diabetes. However, nobody will do experimental islet cell transplants or pancreas transplantations in four year olds until the procedure is much safer and has gone through more research studies satisfactorily. The newer protocols are looking much better with far greater success than in the past but still are all experimental in nature.
SB