Revolutionary cell transplant ends mother's 32-year battle with diabetes

Kathleen Duncan, from Dunfermline, would frequently be found unconscious at home and collapsed on the street as she struggled with low blood sugar caused by Type 1 diabetes.

But after becoming the first patient in Scotland to undergo a transplant of cells from a donor pancreas, she no longer needs to use insulin and life has dramatically improved for both her and her family.

Staff at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service's Islet Isolation Laboratory in Edinburgh now hope that up to 12 patients a year could benefit from the procedure.

Developments in stem cell technology could mean that islet cells - the insulin-producing cells found in the pancreas - could be produced without the need for donor organs, widening the procedure to even more patients.

Mrs Duncan, 52, has suffered from diabetes for 32 years, with the last six seeing her condition deteriorate. "I was falling unconscious many times and it was getting horrendous for my family," she said yesterday during a visit to the unit that helped prepare the cells for her transplant, where she was joined by health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

"I would be found unconscious on the streets, in shopping centres and in the house. Sometimes, if I was left in the house on my own, my son would come home and find me unconscious.

"My son is 17 now, but he saved my life when he was nine. My husband went to work. I was OK at 7am, but the next I knew I was waking up and David was giving glucose after finding me unconscious."

The islet transplant procedure involves taking cells from a deceased donor's pancreas and using a complex process to get them ready for the recipient.

As the transplant involves patients having to take immune system-suppressing drugs for the rest of their life to prevent rejection, it is only suitable for those with severe Type 1 diabetes who have problems managing their blood sugar.

After her first transplant of cells in February, Mrs Duncan saw an immediate improvement, and after a second round of treatment in April she was able to stop using insulin.

"My husband, Chris, says now at least he can sleep well and does not have to sleep with one eye open," she said.

"My son thinks it is great that he has got his mum back."

Mrs Duncan paid an emotional tribute to the NHS staff who had helped her through the treatment, as well as the donor family who allowed their loved-one's organs to be used.

The 900,000-a-year service in Scotland could now start treating up to 12 patients a year.Between 15 and 20 transplants have taken place in England in the past decade, but only a small number had resulted in insulin independence.

John Casey, clinical lead for the Scottish Islet Transplant Programme, said the team hoped stem cell techniques could see islet cells being produced for transplants, rather than relying on donor organs.

"Within Scotland we have a huge stem cell expertise and some of the world's leading scientists here in Edinburgh," he said.

"It's very likely that cell therapy for diabetes will be one of the first stem cell treatments."

Ms Sturgeon said: "In Scotland, around 28,000 people currently have Type 1 diabetes, with an estimated 2,000 experiencing hypoglycaemic unawareness which can have life-threatening implications.

"This service has shown how it has the potential to transform the lives of people with this condition.

"Sadly, like all transplant programmes, the main challenge is the shortage of donor organs."