25-Year-Old Woman Stops Insulin Within 75 Days After 1.5 Million-Cell Stem Transplant
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 29
25-Year-Old Woman Stops Insulin Within 75 Days After 1.5 Million-Cell Stem Transplant
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 29
Summary
Within 75 days of a June 2023 transplant, a 25-year-old woman in northern China stopped insulin entirely after receiving pancreatic islet cells made from her own fat tissue.
About 1.5 million chemically reprogrammed stem-cell-derived islet cells were implanted in a 30-minute procedure, and her glucose control improved sharply—time in range rose from about 43% to more than 98%.
The case is the first recorded Type 1 diabetes treatment to restore natural insulin production using cells derived entirely from the patient’s own body, offering a potential way around donor shortages.
The result remains an n=1 proof of concept: the patient was already on immunosuppressants after a prior liver transplant, and researchers still do not know whether the effect will last beyond the one-year follow-up.
For the roughly 9 million people living with Type 1 diabetes worldwide, the study marks a notable research milestone rather than a clinical cure, with broader use dependent on larger trials now underway.
A patient's own cells reversed her diabetes, but would they have survived without her existing anti-rejection drugs?
A woman is now insulin-free, but can this bespoke stem cell cure ever be made affordable for millions of patients?
Landmark Stem Cell Therapy Enables Insulin Independence for Type 1 Diabetes: Scientific Breakthrough and Road Ahead
Overview
A 25-year-old woman with Type 1 Diabetes became the first person in the world to achieve insulin independence after receiving a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells from her own body. This breakthrough, led by Chinese scientists, used autologous stem cell transplantation, which greatly reduces the risk of organ and tissue rejection—a major problem in traditional transplants that often require lifelong immunosuppressive drugs. Remarkably, the patient began producing her own insulin less than three months after the procedure. This achievement marks a significant step forward in the search for a lasting treatment for diabetes.