Diabetes is a common life-long condition and the number of children being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is increasing. The symptoms can be controlled but there is no cure. For many, diabetes means living with daily insulin injections and the possibility of long-term damage to their health.
All the cells in your body need energy. This energy is carried around the body as sugar (glucose) in the blood. Normally, blood sugar levels are controlled by the release of the hormone insulin. Insulin is made by cells in the pancreas called beta cells that are arranged into clusters together with other pancreas cells. These clusters are called islets of Langerhans. In one human pancreas there are roughly one million islets.