Diabetes UK president to talk at Exeter meeting
The president of Diabetes UK will talk about the ground-breaking treatment he underwent to gain control of his diabetes at a meeting in Exeter.
Richard Lane, 68, was among the first people in the country to receive a transplant of insulin-producing islet cells in 2005. Following three transplants, he was the first person in the UK with Type 1 diabetes to come off insulin altogether.
Richard will be discussing his own experience of diabetes and the work of Diabetes UK at the meeting at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry on October 18.
The event, organised by the Diabetes UK Exeter Voluntary Group, is open to all, including those affected by diabetes, medical students and healthcare professionals. The group will also be kindly donating £5,000 to local diabetes research projects at the meeting.
Richard will discuss how he underwent the revolutionary transplants after suffering from a long history of diabetes-related complications, comas and severe hypos. Hypoglycaemia, or a hypo, happens when blood glucose levels drop too low. He retired as a chartered accountant in 2003 due to the impact diabetes was having on his health.
While Richard is now back on insulin, which he receives from a pump, he says that the transplants have transformed his quality of life.
He said: “I am a living example of how Diabetes UK can make a difference to people’s lives. My life and the lives of my wife and children have changed dramatically since the islet cell transplants and it is a relief not to worry about when the next hypo will strike. I used to have up to six severe hypos a week, many of which gave no warning and developed quickly into frightening comas.
“I have had a long and difficult journey to manage my diabetes and I have only had success thanks to Diabetes UK funding this research. I have not had a serious hypo since the day before the first transplant operation. Funding research is a vital part of Diabetes UK’s work. The fundraising carried out by local volunteers in Exeter is helping the charity support research to improve the lives of people with diabetes and work towards a future without diabetes.”
Diabetes UK Exeter Voluntary Group chair Geoff Poad encouraged people to attend the event. “We are delighted Richard will be joining us to share his experience with diabetes and the work of Diabetes UK,” he said. “Everyone is welcome to attend what will be an informative and interesting evening. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the charity which supports the more than 51,700 people affected by diabetes in Devon.’’
The £5,000 being donated by the group - which has been collected through local fundraising - will go towards research projects being run by the medical school into diabetes.
The meeting will be held at 7.30pm in the lecture theatre at Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry on the site of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
