I just spoke with Lynn Murphy in Dr Faustman's lab, and she told me that everything looks good for the human clinical trials to start "beginning of 2008". She also said that right now, blood samples are being collected on a voluntary basis, and that when they are ready for participants, they will be selected from their data base and will be contacted at that time. Then a blood sample will be mandatory. I signed up my daughter 2 years ago, so I am hoping she will be one of the selected.  They now have a consultant working in the lab who has experience with the blood/assay "machine" software, who is getting it to do precisely what needs to be done with the samples. Yes, I wish things could be done faster, and I would drop everything and take my daughter right now, if I could. I do not have alot of faith in the islet transplants, in that the autoimmune attack is still present in the body. Also, I would never subject my daughter to anti-rejection drug side effects, nor the chemo to kill off her immune system, and then have her stem cells re-injected. I am patiently/anxiousy awaiting Dr Faustman's research, and trying to raise $$ and awareness  as much as I can.

                                                                      Deanne Kacmar

        To contact   Lynn Murphy ,     lmurphy@...     She is willing to answer any   questions.