Representative George R. Nethercutt, Jr. Representative Nethercutt meets with a group of students on the steps of the Capitol Representative Nethercutt meets with a group of students on the steps of the Capitol Representative Nethercutt with two constituents Representative Nethercutt with two constituents Representative Nethercutt with two constituents Representative Nethercutt in the classroom Representative Nethercutt in the classroom Representative Nethercutt in the classroom
Representative George R. Nethercutt, Jr.
2004

House passes Nethercutt bill to help advance
new treatment for juvenile diabetes

October 5, 2004

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. George R. Nethercutt Jr. (R-Wash.) that would help advance a new treatment for juvenile diabetes patients. The treatment, pancreatic islet transplantation, enables patients to produce insulin – eliminating the need for patients to take insulin injections to stay alive.

“My daughter was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes as a little girl. Since that day nearly 20 years ago, I have worked for a cure for this disease. Pancreatic islet transplantation has worked near miracles for patients who are finally able to live free of insulin injections,” Nethercutt said.

“Right now more research is needed, and roadblocks need to be removed to enable more eligible patients to receive transplants. My plan will help enable more testing of this procedure, and help more patients live without being dependent on insulin injections,” he continued.

Pancreatic islet transplantation – a procedure that transplants insulin-producing cells into an individual with juvenile, or Type 1, diabetes – has been performed on nearly 300 individuals, and the majority of them no longer need to take insulin to stay alive. Significant research questions remain to be answered to determine whether the procedure is appropriate for all who suffer from juvenile diabetes.

There are also non-scientific barriers that exist in attempting to expand islet transplantation, and The Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Act of 2004 attempts to address them. The Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Act (PICT) includes two provisions to increase the supply of pancreata for islet cell transplantation and to better coordinate Federal efforts and information regarding islet cell transplantation.

President and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Peter Van Etten, praised Nethercutt’s leadership to make this treatment more available.

“Our goal at JDRF is to cure diabetes. The approval of the PICT bill by the House of Representatives marks a significant step forward in that quest,” he said. “Their approval will move the very promising field of islet transplantation even further towards a cure for diabetes. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the leadership of Representatives Nethercutt and DeGette in passing this bill and helping us achieve our goal.”

Nethercutt said the progress being made toward curing the disease is very encouraging.

“We have arrived at a time of extraordinary opportunity in the field of juvenile diabetes research, and I have great hope in the tremendous strides we are making to help individuals live full lives without being dependent on insulin injections,” Nethercutt said. “One day, we will cure this disease.”


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