Next week, starting on Monday, I will be helping out a 9 1/2 year old boy by the name of Jerry from Washington State with his battle with Type 1 Diabetes. Jerry was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes right after his second birthday. There was never any history of diabetes in Jerry's family prior to his diagnosis. After years of research and trying to find answers and a cure, Jerry's family came across Dr. Faustman, Director of Mass General Hospital's Immunobiology Laboratory, who was conducting a clinical trial to test for a potential cure for Type 1 Diabetes. The Phase 1 trial began in 2008, and in June of 2010, Phase 1 was completed. The safety data was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration and now plans for Phase II are underway.
Donations of blood are taken between a diabetic and that of a non-diabetic control. The samples for this study are processed blindly and together with the control sample. The control donor must be of no relation and a non-diabetic without any autoimmune diseases.
I am happy to help toward this incredible research as Diabetes has entered into my life with my husband Rob being diagnosed in 2008 as a pre-diabetic and later as a Type 1 Diabetic. With diabetes running in his family, there is a chance that our daughter could become a diabetic, and it is up to us as parents and a family to do everything we can to help prevent and teach. Jerry and his family are very lucky that he at a young age took control to learn the right things to do with his diagnosis and has faced it head on. His participating in this research study will help not only him, but so many others. I am blessed to meet him and his family next week and to do what I can to help not only my family but others as well.
I look forward to letting you know more next week as this process of three days of blood donations starts on Monday. To learn more about Dr. Faustman and her research, please visit her page: http://www.faustmanlab.org/ and www.diabetes1.org/hero/hero.cfm/3.
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