The Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation (DIIT) is part of the University of Minnesota Medical School. For more than a century, the University of Minnesota Medical School has been an invaluable resource to the people of Minnesota as well as people throughout the world. The University educates more than two-thirds of the state's physicians, discovering new treatments and devices in the battle against life-threatening diseases, and providing the very best patient care for the most challenging cases.
Islet transplants are performed as clinical research trials by the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation by doctors who are a part of University of Minnesota Physicians. Most of the services performed as part of the clinical trials are done at the General Clinical Research Center, which is funded by the National Institute of Health. The islet infusion itself is performed in the radiology suite at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview (formerly called Fairview-University Medical Center).
Pancreas transplants for patients with diabetes and pancreatectomy and auto-islet transplants for patients with chronic pancreatitis are performed as clinical services through the University of Minnesota Medical Center. These two procedures are standard services; they are not investigational. Many types of transplants, including pancreas, kidney, heart, lung, liver, and intestine, are offered through The Transplant Center. The Transplant Center is a joint effort between the University of Minnesota Physicians, the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and the University of Minnesota which provide patients with a wide array of transplant services.
The Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation conducts its world-class research from scientific grants and charitable gifts. The Minnesota Medical Foundation (MMF) was established in 1939 at the University of Minnesota Medical School. It is a nonprofit organization that raises millions of dollars annually for health-related education and research at the University of Minnesota. By providing charitable gifts to the MMF and indicating that it is to go to the Diabetes Institute, you can directly support our medical staff and research laboratories. Over 90% of contributions to MMF go toward supporting medical research.