Transplanting Islet Cells Can Fix Brittle Diabetes. Why Isn’t It Available in the U.S.?

August 28, 2019

(STAT News) – The term “type 1 diabetes” generally conjures up images of insulin. That makes sense, because insulin is the main treatment for this common disease. But it isn’t a cure. A type of cell transplant that comes close to a cure for some people with type 1 diabetes, a technique pioneered and tested in the United States, is now available in many countries but is still deemed an experimental procedure in the U.S., making it almost impossible to get.