Thanks to the many of you who sent me links to articles about the completion of the first pig cell transplant in Prof Elliott’s NZ pig cell trials yesterday. The Herald’s article here is a pretty good one, apart from getting the numbers of T1s in NZ wrong (it’s more like 15,000, not 11, 000).

Apparently the transplant was done on Tuesday, and according to the trial protocol outlined at clinicaltrials.gov, he will now be monitored for the next 52 weeks for the following:

• To establish whether DIABECELL(R) causes an improvement in glucose lability determined from 72-hour continuous glucose monitoring [ Time Frame: 52 Weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• To determine whether DIABECELL(R) causes a reduction in hypoglycaemia and nocturnal hypoglycaemia [ Time Frame: 52 Weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• To determine whether DIABECELL(R) causes a reduction in insulin dose [ Time Frame: 52 Weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• To determine whether DIABECELL(R) causes an improvement in endogenous insulin secretion [ Time Frame: 52 Weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• To determine whether DIABECELL(R) causes an improvement in quality-of-life [ Time Frame: 52 Weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Actually if you have got time and you are interested, it’s worth having a look at that Clinical Trials link (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00940173?term=pig+cell&rank=8) because the full patient criteria are laid out (aware that a lot of you may not be as interested as I am of course, and it’s very dry content).

So – now we just sit back and wait to hear any more information!