A multidisciplinary team at King’s College Hospital has successfully achieved islet cell¹ transplantation in a Type 1² diabetes patient. This breakthrough has major implications for diabetes sufferers and has never before been achieved in the United Kingdom. The patient, a 61 year old man, now no longer needs insulin injections, following three transplants of islet cells isolated from cadaveric donor pancreases. Historically, islet transplants have only been partially successful, in that they have reduced the amount of insulin required, but the need for regular injections still remained. The first reports of insulin independence came recently from a programme in Canada. The King’s programme is the first to report a comparable result for the UK. This patient has proved that it is possible for islet transplants to lead to freedom from administered insulin and diabetes treatment associated problems. The patient suffered from Type 1 diabetes for over 30 years, experiencing increasing problems with his diabetes therapy. Prior to the islet transplant he endured severe, potentially life threatening hypoglycaemic³ attacks, which profoundly affected his quality of life. Following the islet transplant he is now producing his own insulin and is completely free from hypoglycaemia.
