Unless otherwise noted, please contact Sarah Krumholz at (415) 502-1899 or skrumholz@support.ucsf.edu to make a reservation for the  events listed below.
Please RSVP no later than September 19, 2008. Space is limited.

Wednesday September 24, 2008

Diabetes and Islet Cell Transplantation (Lecture)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
5:00 pm - Westin St. Francis Hotel, St. Francis Suite, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco
Andrew Posselt, MD, PhD, Co-Director, Pancreatic Islet Transplant Program
Peter Stock, MD, PhD, Surgical Director, Pancreas Transplant Program
Greg Szot, Manager of the Islet Transplant Facility, Diabetes Center at UCSF

In recent years, some diabetics have been able to live without insulin injections after receiving pancreatic islet transplants (in which insulin-producing islet cells are transplanted from a donor to a recipient). Islet transplantation is much easier to tolerate than whole-organ pancreas transplant, but fewer than 1,000 people have undergone this procedure to date due to a shortage of donor organs, difficulty in obtaining adequate numbers of islets for transplantation, and reduced islet function after several years. UCSF researchers are finding safer alternatives to current immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent rejection and improve long-term function of islet transplants, and new ways to “grow” or regenerate islet cells in the laboratory. UCSF experts will outline the history of islet transplantation, share recent successes, and discuss future directions for how this exciting therapy can improve quality of life for diabetics.