Mon May 26, 2003 New Transplant Procedure Promises NO MORE Needles for BC Diabetics!!
Diabetics in B.C. have new hope of throwing away their needles and living insulin-free now that the first islet cell transplant has been successfully completed by a surgical team at The University of British Columbia and Vancouver General Hospital.
An alternative to pancreas transplant, the procedure - until now only available in Alberta - involves transplanting healthy insulin-producing cells into a patient with Type 1 diabetes. B.C.'s first patient, 47-year-old Heather-Ann Vaincourt, received the islet cells in March and has been living insulin-free for two months.
Dr. Mark Meloche, Co-director of the Islet Transplant Program and Head, Section of Surgery at B.C. Transplant Society, performed the surgery. He used a technique created by Co-director Dr. Garth Warnock, Head, Dept. of Surgery at UBC and Vancouver General Hospital, who performed Canada's first successful islet cell transplant in Alberta in 1990.
"This surgery marks a major milestone in diabetes treatment in B.C.," says Meloche, a UBC associate professor of Surgery and director of the Pancreas Transplant Program. "In addition to helping people with diabetes, the technique may be useful in advancing cell technologies to treat other diseases such as Parkinson's."
Islet cells are isolated from pancreases obtained through organ donation and only a limited number of patients will be admitted to the transplant program. Islet transplantation does not require surgery and may be performed as a one-day outpatient procedure.
The Human Islet Transplant Laboratory, site of the Islet Transplant Program, was created through a $2.5 million gift to UBC by Irving K. Barber, a UBC alumnus and leading B.C. entrepreneur.
Warnock credits the research and clinical partnerships in the lab as a key ingredient in the success of the recent transplant.
"The remarkable ability to take this program from planning to its first success in just 18 months is unprecedented in Canada," says Warnock.
"This is a credit to the vision and funding support provided by Mr. Barber in partnership with UBC, the Vancouver Hospital Foundation and the P.A. Woodward Foundation."
"I am very pleased with this new success," says Barber. "It's really just the starting point. We now need to accelerate the 'cure frequency' for people currently suffering with diabetes through well-coordinated and broad ranging basic research."
Diabetes, which affects about two million Canadians and 200,000 people in B.C., is caused by insufficient secretion of insulin by the pancreas. There have been about 80 pancreas transplants in B.C. in the last 10 years, Meloche estimates.
For information on eligibility for islet cell transplantation, contact .
The Ike Barber Human Islet Transplant Laboratory is made possible through a partnership of two health authorities. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority provided funding to help establish and operate the laboratory and the Provincial Health Services Authority's B.C. Transplant Society will fund costs associated with providing transplants, including assessment and follow up.
Note to editors: Ms. Vaincourt is available for media interviews.
You can view the Next Triumphs, Honours & Awards - 2003 item: Wed Jun 11, 2003, I am very pleased to announce the formation of the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI)
You can view the Previous Triumphs, Honours & Awards - 2003 item: Tue May 13, 2003, Jason Wilson, gold medal winner at CIHR student Health Research Symposium and Poster Competition
