Few terms bring such a supreme sense of hope to diabetics and their families like the words “islet transplantation”. This remarkable technique that has given us a short glimpse of a cure that could very well occur in our lifetime. In the past two years, it has become clear that islet transplantation works. Many recipients have been able to discard their blood glucose meters, their pumps, their syringes and their cares, to live free from the curse of diabetes for the first time in their lives. But there remains much work to be done.

This year, it is estimated that less than 100 people world-wide will receive this life-giving treatment. There are far too few donor organs available to provide the islet cells necessary for the country’s millions of diabetics. Current drug therapies designed to prevent transplant rejection must be taken for life and are wrought with potential side-effects. And there are far too few clinical centers outfitted and trained in the art of islet transplantation.

Under cGMP conditions in the classified cleanrooms of the Human Islet and Cellular Transplantation Facility (HICTF) at the UCSF Mission Center Building, world-renowned researchers in islet cell development are single-mindedly attacking the islet shortage problem, seeking new approaches to “growing” insulin-producing cells and looking for ways to make islets regenerate from the adult stem cells that remain in the diabetic pancreas. We are among the most respected centers in the world for our research into "immune tolerance" therapies - new, safer alternatives to current immunosuppressive drug therapies used to prevent the rejection of islet transplants. Inside, our world-renowned researchers in islet cell development are single-mindedly attacking the islet shortage problem, seeking new approaches to “growing” insulin-producing cells in the laboratory and looking for ways to make islets regenerate from the adult stem cells that remain in the diabetic pancreas. We are among the most respected centers in the world for our research into "immune tolerance" therapies - new, safer alternatives to current immunosuppressive drug therapies used to prevent the rejection of islet transplants.

A number of islet transplantation research programs take place under the umbrella of the JDRF Center for Islet Transplantation at UCSF and University of Minnesota. This collaborative program represents the merging of two of the most respected facilities in the country. And, as home of the Immune Tolerance Network, the Diabetes Center is at the pulse of islet transplantation around the world.

For more information please call 415-353-8893.