April 25, 2003
Transplants
Question from Phoenix, Arizona, USA:
My daughter was diagnosed a week ago and is in her honeymoon period. Since Alberta Foundation Reports on Successful Islet Transplants is now a type of treatment available, is it possible that we should consider harvesting her few remaining islet cells? I was thinking that maybe they could be frozen, and later, when technology is available, might be cultured, multiplied, and then re-implanted.
Answer:
Harvesting the few remaining islet cells would involve removing the entire pancreas which would not be ethically justified in a child, although the technique has been used with some success in situations where surgical removal has been essential. What is more likely is that in the years to come a variety of ways will be developed not only of producing surrogate insulin producing cells but of overcoming the present need for lifetime immunosuppressive drugs after transplantation
DOB
