Cryopreservation of Pancreatic Islets to Achieve Diabetes Cure through Transplantation

Diabetes is a debilitating disease that has a tremendous impact on a person's health and wellbeing. Pancreatic islet transplantation offers a potential cure, yet an insufficient quantity of high-quality islets currently limits the success of this treatment. A method for cryopreserving or “banking” of islets prior to transplant can achieve the high viability, function, and clinical scalability required for human transplantation. This study will validate the function of cryopreserved islets using the novel technology cryomesh vitrification-rewarming with the goal to launch a clinical trial of vitrified islet transplants to increase accessibility of pancreatic islet transplants to cure diabetes.