Alec lived it. His daughter shouldn’t have to.
Help redefine what’s possible for type 1 diabetes.
"Parents should have hope. I firmly believe this is leading the way to either a long-term solution or a cure… and I strongly believe my daughter won’t live with type 1 diabetes one day."
– Alec, living with type 1 diabetes for 50 years, and dad to a daughter with the condition
When Alec’s daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at just 9 years old, he was crushed. Not just because she was now living with an incurable condition – but also because he’s lived with T1D himself for more than 50 years. He dreaded the challenges that lay ahead for her.
Desperate to make a difference for his daughter and the other 135,000+ Australians living with T1D, Alec bravely stepped forward to join a world-first clinical trial – and his extraordinary results are helping to redefine what’s possible thanks to groundbreaking research.
Read on to discover Alec’s journey with T1D – and meet the researcher who’s changing what’s possible for everyone with this life-long condition.
When his daughter was diagnosed with T1D, Alec was heartbroken: ‘I feared she’d have to endure everything I went through’
Finding out his daughter had T1D, just as he did, was crushing for Alec, as he worried her childhood would be just as tough as his had been. Alec’s journey with T1D looked very different from how it’s managed today.
"It was quite brutal as a young person with type 1 diabetes in the 1970s... It was 5 needles a day, constant urine tests, and rules about what you could and couldn’t eat. It was a really challenging childhood."
– Alec
However, a lot has changed over the past 50 years. What once felt insurmountable became manageable, with the introduction of insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors, and artificial pancreas systems dramatically reducing the need for constant blood glucose checks and needle pricks.
These advances have given people like Alec and his daughter more freedom, peace of mind, and control over their daily lives.
But they aren’t a cure. The condition still demands constant 24/7 attention, and the challenge of managing its unpredictable highs and lows. We need a solution to end T1D once and for all.
Determined to forge a better future for his daughter, Alec decided to take part in a ground-breaking clinical trial.
"I’ve benefitted in my life through the technological advancements in diabetes care and management, and I wanted to give back."
– Alec
Alec bravely volunteered for an islet transplantation clinical trial, in the hopes of changing the future of T1D for this daughter. Led by Professor Toby Coates, Director of Kidney and Pancreas Islet Transplantation at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the study has already shown incredible promise for how we could one day treat, and even potentially cure, T1D.
Islet transplantation is a procedure where insulin-producing beta cells are taken from a donor pancreas and transplanted into someone with T1D. The goal is to help the recipient’s body start producing insulin again, so they can better manage their blood glucose levels naturally.
But this procedure comes with several challenges, and has limited availability for people with T1D. That’s why Professor Coates is pioneering a new method – and his innovative approach is opening new doors for the future of treatment.
The trial is transforming Alec's experience with T1D.
"I don’t get the sweats, I don’t get the shakes, I don’t go so low that it becomes dangerous anymore."
– Alec
While islet transplantation holds incredible promise, one major barrier is that islets are usually transplanted into the liver. This isn’t an ideal site, as the process requires invasive surgery and monitoring the transplanted cells is nearly impossible.
In this exciting research project, Professor Coates and his team are exploring whether it’s possible to transplant islet cells into the skin instead, using something called a biodegradable temporising matrix (BTM). Similar to a skin graft, it promotes the formation of new blood vessels.
Alec became the first person in the world to undergo this innovative procedure.
"The BTM is inserted into the inner upper arm and will completely break down over time, but the blood vessels it has stimulated to be created will remain. So, it leaves beautiful blood vessels behind that can support and nourish islet cells in a location where they can be easily monitored and removed if necessary."
The BTM method offers a simpler, less invasive alternative to traditional methods of islet transplantation. It makes it easier to check on the cells. It could also potentially eliminate the need for general anaesthesia.
If successful, this trial could lead to a safer, more effective, and more widely available treatment – and even a potential cure – for T1D.
Alec’s courage appears to have paid off, with successful early results.
"I’m still on my insulin pump but my insulin needs have significantly reduced. I don’t get the incredibly high glucose levels anymore. I don’t have as deep a low glucose levels as I used to either, and I don’t get the symptoms."
– Alec
Professor Coates says the results are incredibly promising and the findings from the completed trial are expected to be released later this year.
"I can tell you it’s safe! We have very minimal side effects, which is the most important thing in a phase 1 clinical trial. It’s safe, well tolerated and we’ve seen evidence of function, like with Alec’s amazing results."
Research like this could lead to a much simpler and gentler way of providing islet transplantation, and its benefits will be able to be used by a much broader group of the community.
From 5 daily injections and erratic highs and lows to more tightly managed T1D, Alec’s journey shows how research is redefining what’s possible for T1D
But this research can only continue if we have the support of people like you behind it.
With every contribution you make, you’re helping move the needle toward breakthroughs that can bring us closer to a world without T1D.
“Because in the end, research progress can’t happen unless someone puts their hand up.”
– Alec
Will you join Alec in putting your hand up for T1D research by making a contribution?
By making a tax-deductible donation to Breakthrough T1D, you’ll be helping to get therapies, technologies and procedures in the hands of the Australian T1D community faster – and ultimately changing what's possible for Alec, his daughter and the more than 135,000 Australians with the condition.
But that’s not all: when you donate by 30 June your donation will be DOUBLED by our matching partners – helping us create a world without T1D even faster.
