IKDRC achieves breakthrough in diabetes cure

Ahmedabad, Nov 29: A city-based Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) has claimed a major breakthrough in diabetes cure by transplanting insulin-making stem cells in five diabetic patients.

Addressing reporters here yesterday, IKDRC Director Prof H L Trivedi, said ''We had successfully transplanted stem cells into the liver of five young patients very recently and all of them have started producing insulin.'' He said the IKDRC had successfully conducted transplantation to Palak Dineshbhai Patel (15) from Vadodara, Suniti (25) from Jaipur, Mathak Parsram Soni (19) from Jodhpur, Hemani Yogendra Gautam (14) from Kota in Rajasthan and Pranav Kulinbhai Joshi (28) from Ahmedabad.

He ''We had collected cells from living donors mainly blood relatives of the patients. Insulin-making stem cells identified from Human Adipose Tissue and cultured from Mesenchymal stem cells have been used for transplantation,'' he said.

He said transplantation in the liver was done by the Centre's own technique of mini lapartomy using omental-portal venous route.

Dr Trivedi said after the plantation, liver biopsy showed that transplanted stem cells began acting as liver cells. The patients were discharged from the hospital within two weeks time.

He said India has 33 million known diabetes cases which are going to escalate in future.

''Presently we have the capacity to transplant 10 patients in a month and the transplantation is cost effective costing approximately Rs two lakh,'' he added.

UNI