February 5, 2004 - Each year approximately 30,000 individuals are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes-over 13,000 of them children.

Rebecca and Andrew Henkel of Fredericksburg know first-hand how tough it can be for young patients and their families-their 14 year-old daughter was diagnosed at 15 months and their 3 year-old son was diagnosed at 9 months with the disease. Their son must be tested 4-5 times a day and receive 4 shots every day. This rigid, essential routine affects their parents, themselves and their other sibling who does not have diabetes. According to Rebecca, "the hardest part is leaving our son with someone else to take care of him. Not only does he require a strict routine, he is a rambunctious 3-year old."

Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that naturally produce insulin. When this happens, people must take insulin to prevent serious damage to their body's vital organs.

It was because of families like the Henkel's that the Kids for a Cure was founded in 2002 by the Mary Washington Hospital Diabetes Management Center. Kids for a Cure is a monthly support group for kids and families with diabetes. At each meeting, there are informative guest speakers, games and fun activities. It is a great way for kids to recognize that they are not the only one in the world with diabetes. Parents and caregivers share ideas, triumphs, and tribulations of daily life with a chronic disease.

Anyone with children with diabetes is invited to attend the monthly meetings of the Kids for a Cure. The next meeting is Monday, February 16, at 6:45 p.m. at the Cancer Center, 5040 Plank Road (Route 3) in Fredericksburg. The featured speaker will be Dr. Kenneth L. Brayman, Director of the University of Virginia, Center for Cellular Transplantation and Therapeutics and Professor of Surgery. He directs the renal, pancreas and human islet cell transplant programs at the UVa Medical Center. Attendees are invited to learn more about the research that is being done at UVa to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

In 2002, the University of Virginia Health System established the Center for Cellular Transplantation and Therapeutics-the first islet cell isolation facility in the Commonwealth. The first islet cell transplant will take place in the near future. In the short-term, the University's goal is to provide a treatment for diabetic patients by replacing non-functional islet cells with healthy ones. Long-term research is dedicated to finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

A large part of the research has been supported by grants from the Islet Replacement Research Foundation.