OPINION: Voting Yes for the Pancreas Islet Cell Transplant Bill
Copyright © 2026 Diabetes Consults Limited.
By: Madi Deskovick, Skyline Contributor
ALPINE- As a ten-year-old girl, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was constantly told there would be a cure one day, yet I never heard news of one for over 10 years.
Thinking that I would be stuck with this chronic disease for the rest of my life, I tried my best to get comfortable with managing this disease. While the disease is manageable, I no longer have a functioning pancreas and have to take insulin and watch my blood sugar in order to survive.
A simple miscalculation of not enough insulin can make me nauseous, tired, sick, or trigger diabetic keto acidosis because of high blood sugar. A miscalculation of too much insulin can lead to shaking, feeling weak, passingout, and even severe hypoglycemia from low blood sugar.
Taking insulin shots daily is exhausting for a kid and even difficult for an adult. We struggle every day feeling high blood sugars and low blood sugars and constantly being reminded of the fact that most healthy people do not understand what we go through. To complicate matters of health and treatment, I am a collegiate athlete on the Sul Ross Rodeo Team.
“If only there was a cure,” something that every type 1 diabetic has said in their life. The Islet Act might just give us hope. The bill was first introduced in June of 2023. Islet transplant therapy is a donor sourced transplant, for people with type 1 diabetes. The bill was reintroduced in November of 2025 and has now gained traction thanks to more public knowledge and social media. This transplant therapy has been proven successful, as six of eight patients are now insulin independent. This is something that was never expected to be a possibility in my lifetime.
Now, why isn't every diabetic cured? The answer is that the FDA recognizes islet cells as “biological drugs” rather than “organs”, meaning that most insurance will not cover the transplant, making the operation unaffordable for many. This simple classification makes a big difference in how many people can be cured, and how many patients would have access to this treatment. If this bill is passed to make these cells classified as organs, imagine the number of lives that can be changed and saved. Here in the US, there are 53,000 type 1 diabetic college students. All these individuals have struggled with type 1 diabetes for most of their lives and now finally have the opportunity of leading a normal healthy life.
A life changing treatment should not be used to make pharmaceutical companies more money, it should be used to change lives, save lives, and give hope to type 1 diabetics like me. Going from finger pricking, taking shots, calculating carbohydrates, and feeling sick often, to going back to how my pancreas worked when I was nine years old, a healthy young girl with no autoimmune issues, would be a miracle.