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Congrats Bert, that must be a good feeling to have helped your fellow human beings who may be suffering in some way, even if you say it was in a modest way!!?
I have a very close old friend who has had type I diabetes since he was a lad, and it is a horrible horrible disease to watch up close over a long period.
Not that he ever complained (he has always made me feel pathetic and inadequate with the cheerful upbeat uncomplaining way he has lived his life in the face of many difficulties related to the disease. like going half blind ect. at a relatively young age)
So as a kinda spinoff of our friendship I have sort of casually followed ( in a laymans way) the advances in treatment ect as much as I could in this area (which i might add have been HUGE over the last 10-20 years) for a while.
A few years ago he became very ill and nearly died due to the long term affects of this disease, and needed a kidney transplant desperately. I am deeply ashamed to say I felt nervous and scared and thought he was eyeing off my kidneys, and I paniced a bit, as I have a mortal fear of major surgery, but I also I didnt want him to die or live through dialysis either.
Anyway his brother was a match straight away, and didnt hesitate to give him one of his, in one of the most beautiful selfless acts a human being can do for another I think.
The improvement in his life and EVERYTHING since the kidney transplant has been nothing short of astounding, he is a different person, and has a completely new lease on life. Indeed he feels 20 years younger too.
One of the developments in recents years that gives hope to diabetes sufferers and researchers a lot has been the cadaver pancreas transplants (trial still?) that takes place in Sydney atm.
The advances over the last decade all the way from hypodermics needles (they were a pretty fat painful gauge 30 years ago apparently) to the latest very recent news that they can filter the blood out of non-compatible blood type kidneys and successfully use them in transplants without rejection (thats a biggie!)
Also my mum, and my partners mum (as a temporary spinoff of recent chemo) has mild type II,
All I am saying is you dont have to be a nobel prize winning scientists to help a diabetes sufferer, you can also become a kidney (preferably while alive) or an organ donor, if you are serious! So until research like Berts and his colleagues are in everyday use, you can make a BIG difference to someones life!
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