This subject is currently receiving enormous attention within scientific and clinical circles. This will rapidly become a billion dollar industry and it is not short even now of investors in the private sector. Public funding too has picked up momentum following the lead in California when in 2004 the voters authorised a bond of 3 billion dollars for stem cell research. The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) can as a result be regarded as a world leader in this field.

There are also many other significant institutions in this field from all corners of the world. What is needed now is for the laboratory advances to be successfully translated into clinical therapies. Taking such monumental steps to change the delivery of healthcare will not be easy but for diabetes sufferers it will be worth the wait.

For the time being patients with diabetes have to watch this space with anticipation. They should exert caution if appealing treatments drop through the letter box or flash up on the internet. In these cases informed consent would be the best way forward. Ask your Doctor to explain the science and safety and seek answers to specific questions by logging on to the website of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (www.ISSCR.org)