A new era in diabetes care
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Progress Report 2021/22 |
Every three to four days, a child is diagnosed with diabetes in British Columbia. There are currently more than 2,500 children and youth living with diabetes across the province.
When a child is diagnosed with diabetes, their illness can feel like a life sentence. Their daily routines and family life can be greatly upended with endless requirements such as finger pricks, daily insulin injections and around-the-clock monitoring.
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Type 1 diabetes affects 90 per cent of kids diagnosed with the disease and requires patients to maintain exact levels of insulin, either through injections or an insulin pump. Kids with diabetes can face serious health issues as they age, including heart disease or kidney damage. |
Over the last decade, BC Children’s Hospital has emerged as a world-leading childhood diabetes care and research centre. With donor support, there have been major breakthroughs in diabetes research and management, as well as initiatives providing critically needed support to more children and families across BC. |
Supporting families
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Research shows that the further away a child with diabetes lives from expert care, the worse off they are, adding to the challenges families face with a diabetes diagnosis. Providing resources, support and training to families across BC is critical to the precise care required to manage childhood diabetes. The Diabetes Transformation Project (DTP) is an innovative initiative that is transforming the experience of kids and families who are living with childhood diabetes. Through the incredible support of donor funding, the DTP is making significant advancements in these key areas of support. |
VIRTUAL EDUCATION PLATFORM |
The virtual education platform is an interactive, customized multimedia platform that provides easy-to-understand education and training that can be tailored to each child’s unique needs. It offers the education and tools that children and families need across their entire journey with diabetes, from diagnosis and day-to-day management to transition out of pediatric care. |
PEER SUPPORT |
Having peer support programs for children and families helps to create a sense of community and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness — which are chronic challenges often faced by families caring for a child with diabetes. This peer support project enables parents and caregivers of children with type 1 diabetes to connect with, learn from and lean on each other when they need support. |
CLINICAL RESEARCH AND
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The BC Pediatric Diabetes Registry houses clinical data on children and youth living with diabetes in BC. Through the DTP, the registry is expanding to more health authorities across the province. The registry aims to capture a complete picture of each child’s experience, which can lead to key discoveries on how to help them better manage their condition, regardless of where they live. Diabetes management is no simple feat, but with the generous support of donors, families have access to the most current resources and latest research advancements. With support from leadership donors including Daljit Singh and Pritam Kaur Dhillon and family, Manjit Lit, Peter and Usha Raju, Tony Singh and family, Scotiabank, TD Bank and Thomas and Ida Tait, BC Children’s is transforming diabetes care for all kids across the province. |
The quest for a cure
Diabetes research conducted at BC Children’s Canucks for Kids Fund Childhood Diabetes Laboratories has established the hospital as a national leader in pediatric diabetes research.
In the last year, promising new approaches to treating the disease have been examined through stem cell-based therapies. BC Children’s is home to first-of-its-kind stem cell research technology. Housed within the hospital’s Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, the equipment accelerates and automates stem cell development, unlocking the potential for the discovery of customized therapies for kids and even cures for serious childhood diseases.
Made possible through donor funding, this technology will provide support in developing readily available insulin-producing cells for transplantation therapy. These cutting-edge advancements would reduce the need for painful insulin injections for kids living with type 1 diabetes and lessen the long-term health complications of the disease.