The CITC studies will focus on improving the safety and long-term success of transplanting islets (the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas) in people whose own islets have been destroyed by the autoimmune process that characterizes type 1 diabetes. Some studies will focus on improving combined islet and kidney transplants in patients with type 1 diabetes and kidney failure, a common complication of diabetes.

CITC studies will focus on:

• improving the isolation and viability of islets
• reducing complications of the islet transplant procedure (e.g., bleeding and clotting in the blood vessels of the liver)
• reducing the side effects of immunosuppression
• achieving good blood sugar control without hypoglycemia
• following the fate of islets after transplantation and determining why donor islets sometimes fail
• evaluating new ways to safely prevent immune rejection of donor tissues