Cure for diabetes finally in sight

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Almost two years ago, I wrote a column in The State News about a few days I spent in Washington, D.C., with 150 kids and teens with type 1 diabetes who were advocating for federal funding for a cure. On the last day of the event — the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Congress — then President George W. Bush again vetoed a bill that would have removed his harsh restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, widely recognized as the most promising avenue for a biological cure.

I wrote then of how this clearly illustrated the great divide that existed between the administration and the people of this country. As 150 diabetic kids asked their legislators to “Promise to Remember Me” and support this critical research, the president ruled against it based on his skewed and incoherent notions of science and morality. I also wrote then of how Michigan had some of the nation’s most archaic and restrictive laws regarding this research and how the state Legislature had failed to update these laws.

What a difference 21 months has made.

Despite the millions of dollars spent by the Michigan Catholic Conference, or MCC, to thwart it, the citizens of Michigan stood up and clearly voiced their support for stem cell research, rewriting the state’s laws on the matter with a ballot initiative this past November.

Last Monday, President Barack Obama made good on a campaign promise and issued an executive order that effectively overturned Bush’s order and made hundreds more stem cell “lines” available to researchers.

The same day, research universities across the country announced plans to expand their stem cell research capabilities. The University of Michigan’s A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute announced the creation of its Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies and its millions of dollars in startup funding.

While the MCC and other fearmongers were out waving their arms and warning of a doomsday of human cloning and other absurd distractions, they were barely heard above the overwhelming feelings of hope.

This June, another 150 type 1 diabetic kids and teens will convene in Washington, D.C., for the sixth Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Congress. Ten years ago, when I was one of those teens at the first Children’s Congress, I likely hadn’t even heard of a stem cell before. The device being developed and known as the artificial pancreas sounded then like a far-off dream or science fiction.

What a difference 10 years has made.

The young advocates who will meet with their legislators this June will do so with a greater sense of hope and possibility than any before them.

They will ask members of Congress to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments that have been made thus far and commit to seeing these efforts through to the ultimate goal of curing diabetes. The tools needed to reach that stage all lie before us, and it is now up to us to use them accordingly.

There remains plenty of work to be done. The federal government must allow for the creation of new stem cell lines and increase funding for this research, as well as research on the shorter-term solution of the artificial pancreas device.

In addition to the possibility of saving and extending thousands of lives, the artificial pancreas can result in millions of dollars in health care savings through improved treatment until a biological cure is found and refined.

But after eight years of relative stagnation and an administration that basically said “Sure, we have the tools, but we aren’t going to use them to cure your disease,” these recent developments are extremely encouraging. While volunteering at the Children’s Congress two years ago, I assured the children I met that I firmly believed we would see a cure in our lifetimes.

Today, I feel more confident than ever that this is true, and I urge our legislators to help make it a reality.

Ryan Dinkgrave is a State News guest columnist. Reach him at dinkgrave@gmail.com.

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