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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