The Lloydminster Lions Club presented a $3,000 cheque to DRIFCan to support diabetes research.
The event, held at the Legacy Centre April 10, provided an opportunity to the community to learn about everything diabetes.
Multiple organizations were there to talk about sensors, pumps and breakthrough research. It also focused on raising awareness about new treatments for diabetes, including a promising stem cell project in Edmonton.
DRIFCan executive director Melanie Hibbard accepted the cheque and shared updates on the research her team does.
“DRIFCan is the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada,” said Hibbard. “We directly fund cure-based research by Dr. James Shapiro and his team at the University of Alberta.”
Hibbard explained Shapiro’s work started with the Edmonton Protocol, a major breakthrough in 2000.
“They take a donated pancreas, shake out the islets, and transplant them into the liver,” said Hibbard.
The islet cells then produce insulin. This gives patients with Type 1 diabetes the ability to live without insulin injections for years.
Brent Smithson, co-chair of the Lions diabetes committee, knows the process well.
“I was fortunate enough to get into the program,” said Smithson. “They tried everything, and it changed my life.”
Smithson has had four islet transplants. Meanwhile, He says the treatment helped him live more freely.
“I used to be on call 24 hours a day,” said Smithson. “My wife always worried about my diabetes.”
“When you don’t have to worry about that anymore, it’s totally life-changing,” he added.
The Edmonton Protocol isn’t permanent. Most transplants last two to three years. Some patients, like Smithson, need more than one.
“There are people that have had the islet cells for 15, 20 years,” he said.
However, Hibbard said while the protocol is not a cure, it saves lives.
“Some people don’t feel their low blood sugars,” she said. “That’s a huge risk.”
Now, Shapiro’s team is working on a new project using stem cells.
“They take a blood sample from a mouse and transform it into islet cells in 27 days,” said Hibbard.
The cells are then injected back into the mouse. It lives diabetes-free, without anti-rejection drugs.
“Because it’s your own cells, your body won’t reject it,” said Hibbard. “That’s what makes it a potential cure.”
Human trials haven’t started yet. The team must first prove the method works in hundreds of mice.
“We’re the closest we’ve ever been to a cure,” said Hibbard.
She knows the impact firsthand. “I have two children that live with Type 1 diabetes,” said Hibbard. “It’s a no-brainer for me to be involved.”
DRIFCan raised $2.5 million last year. Hibbard said 90 per cent of that went directly to research.
“We have no grants, no government funding, and no corporate sponsorship,” said Hibbard. “It’s all community-based.”
She praised the Lions Club for their support.
“One of their main goals has always been to fight blindness,” said Hibbard. “Diabetes causes blindness, so it fits.”
“Helen Keller challenged the Lions to be ‘Knights of the Blind,’” said Smithson. “Helping people with diabetes is part of that.”
He’s grateful for the chance to tell his story.
“Things have changed so much,” said Smithson. “It’s like night and day from what it was 25 or 30 years ago.”
To learn more or donate, visit drifcan.com.
The Lions Club would also like to remind readers of two upcoming fundraising events. The American Highwayman are coming to the Kitscoty Community Hall May 8. Additionally, their annual golf tournament still needs around 30 golfers to tee off at Rolling Green Golf Course, June 13.
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