At the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2025, UI Health announced a groundbreaking medical milestone: the first FDA-approved islet cell transplant using Lantidra. The procedure was performed on August 26, 2025, for Edward “Ed” Augustin III, a 69-year-old Illinois resident with brittle type 1 diabetes, who has since stopped taking daily insulin injections.

Lantidra is the only FDA-approved therapy for adults with brittle type 1 diabetes who experience severe hypoglycemia and hypoglycemia unawareness. Derived from a deceased donor pancreas, the therapy involves infusing islet cells into the patient’s liver, enabling natural insulin production.

Islet therapy also shows promise in preventing diabetes complications such as kidney damage if administered early, according to Dr. Lorenzo Gallon, director of transplant research at UI Health.

More than 1.4 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes, including about 80,000 with brittle forms of the disease. UI Health, which developed Lantidra through research led by Dr. José Oberholzer, remains the only U.S. center offering this transformative therapy.