From major organs to tiny cells, transplants have been breaking new ground. The conference, expected to be held annually after this year, was organized by two new research centres based at the University of Western Ontario's Robarts Research Institute, one for diabetes and the other for transplants. Wall said transplant programs have expanded from the body's organs to its tissues. Transplants are now considered a treatment or possible treatment for disease and medical problems as diverse as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and spinal injuries. One of the highlights of the conference yesterday was a talk by Dr. James Shapiro, head of the clinical islet transplant program and a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Islets are cells in the pancreas that produce life-sustaining insulin that diabetics lack.
More than 400 times, scientists from around the world had tried to find a way to transplant islets. None were successful until Shapiro's team developed what's become known as the Edmonton protocol for doing the procedure. It was made public last year. Even more remarkable is the islets can be transplanted by injection rather than surgery. Shapiro said 900 diabetes are on the waiting list for an islet transplant.