Glen Waverley mum Elaine Robinson, 54, is the first Victorian to receive the islet cell transplant giving hope to the 140,000 Australians suffering type-1 diabetes.
Type-1 diabetes stops the pancreas from producing insulin; patients instead inject the insulin daily.
The procedure, conducted by staff at the St Vincent?s Hospital, took insulin-producing cells from a donor pancreas and transfused them into Mrs. Robinson?s liver.
Mrs. Robinson used to inject insulin up to eight times a day but thanks to the transplant for the first time in 25 years is now producing her own insulin.
Head of the islet transplant program at St Vincent's Professor Tom Kay said he was hopefully a second transfusion would mean Mrs. Robinson could one day no longer require insulin injections.
?She is now taking a trivial amount of insulin, about five units of insulin a day, almost none,'' he said.
?We are very confident that with another transfusion of insulin producing cells she will no longer need to take insulin at all,'' he said.
Professor Kay said two things had to be overcome to ensure the future success of the program - the supply of pancreas donors and the fact recipients must take anti-rejection drugs.
But Mrs Robinson, who always lived in fear she would collapse from low-blood sugar levels said the procedure had changed her life.
?It (taking the drugs) has its moments there are a lot of side-affects but it is still preferable to passing out,'' Mrs. Robinson said.
Professor Kay said the procedure was done under local anesthetic using an ultrasound to guide the needle into the liver.
?It was successful in this case but it is really dependent on advances in anti-rejection drugs,?? he said.
Professor Kay said the transplant procedure was at this stage only suitable to type-1 sufferers but was a positive step toward one day finding a cure.
?Insulin is a cure not a lifesaver. This is a glimpse into the future,?? he said.
Full Article.
Local diabetes breakthrough hailed
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