my child is 12years old now

[mia775]

my child that just turned 12 years wants a panceases transplant, when she gets of age, is this a safe thing?or not her pancrease doesn't work at all insulin user she's type 1,she's had this diease for 1 yr.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

No transplant is without surgical and anesthesia risks, and at the current time, transplants are done only on people who have real troubles with controlling their diabetes or who are suffering life-threatening complications. The reason is that the anti-rejection drugs themselves can have life-altering side effects. So people who are healthy other than having to test and take insulin are not considered candidates for pancreas transplants as a general rule. Furthermore, sometimes after the transplant surgery, the very autoimmune disorder that caused the diabetes in the first place causes the immune system to attack and destroy the new pancreas in spite of anti-rejection drugs. Then the person is back to square one and back on insulin.

Don't discourage her, however. New tests are being done every day, and we are growing closer to the reality of a cure. I would like to think it will happen in her lifetime. She just needs to continue to work to maintain her good health so that when it happens, she will still be undamaged by the disease. I was the same age at diagnosis and I am now a complication-free grandma. Tell her to keep her chin up!