Northwest Tissue Services researcher Ted Rigley takes a closer look at an pancreatic islet cell sample.

The Northwest Tissue Services is one of six regional research institutions working together to make a cure for type 1 diabetes a reality. Funded by a grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International (JDFI) and under the direction of Pacific Northwest Research Institute Director Paul Robertson, MD, the organizations are collaborating to establish one of eight new JDFI Islet Cell Distribution Centers world-wide.

The injection of insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells into people with diabetes presently offers the best potential cure for restoring normalblood sugar levels and ending patients' need for insulin injections. The Tissue Services is using its tissue procurement and processing expertise and facilities to isolate and process islets for research and transplantation.

Brian Stevens, MD, PhD, medical director of the Tissue Services' Islet Cell Program, anticipates that partnering institutions, Virginia Mason Research Center, Swedish Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center, may begin human clinical trials as early as this spring. Initial trials will involve patients with chronic pancreatitis who elect to have their pancreata removed to relieve chronic pain. To prevent diabetes in these patients, their own islets will be isolated from their removed pancreases and transplanted into their livers. Ultimately, trials will begin in diabetic patients using cadaveric islets and modified immunosuppression protocols.

"The Northwest Tissue Services' contribution to this effort is nothing short of extraordinary," said Dr. Stevens. Jo Anna Reemes, PhD, has recently been named Operations Director for the Tissue Services' Islet Program. Dr. Reemes, and Tissue Services researchers Ted Rigley, Sabrina Qualley, and Shinichi Matsumoto, MD, are proud to be helping to make this promising treatment a reality.