A medical miracle

Insulin is one of medical history’s most important discoveries. In 1921, four Canadian researchers worked out how to isolate insulin from the pancreas and then refine it. At the beginning of 1922, they gave the first injection of insulin to Leonard Thompson, a fourteen- year-old boy who was dying from type 1 diabetes in a Toronto Hospital.

This breakthrough gave the gift of life to millions of people diagnosed with diabetes over the last century. Before insulin, diabetes was considered a death sentence. The only way to prolong life was through a starvation diet. It was the only form of treatment until insulin became commercially available in 1923.

The first major breakthrough came when Frederick Banting and his research assistant Charles Best figured out how to remove insulin from the pancreas of a dog in October 1921. They used it to keep another dog with diabetes alive for 70 days. Armed with this knowledge, the researchers, along with colleagues James Collip and Professor John Macleod, developed a more refined insulin from the pancreas of cows.

This advancement led researchers to a Toronto Hospital where 14-year-old Leonard Thompson was dying of diabetes ketoacidosis. While his glucose levels did decrease, it wasn’t a significant drop, and he had an allergic reaction. The treatment had not worked as the researchers had hoped. Twelve days later, they tried again, using more refined insulin. This time it was a success. Thompson’s glucose levels returned to normal! In the following weeks Thompson received daily injections and gained weight and strength.

Researchers knew it was an incredible development that would change the future for millions of people with diabetes. Soon after, an agreement was reached with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Company to distribute and manufacture insulin on a larger scale, and in July 1923, insulin became commercially available.

In 1923, 6-year-old Phyllis Adams became the first Australian to be treated with insulin. The insulin, wrapped in cotton wool, was sent to Sydney on board a P & O ship from Vancouver. Her father, Harry, a machinery merchant, met the ship mid-harbour to collect the insulin which he rushed home to the waiting family doctor. Phyllis weighed less than 10 kilograms when she received the first injection. Phyllis Lush (nee Adams) went on to live a long life, passing away at the age of 81.

News travelled fast and in 1923, Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering and isolating insulin. For many years insulin from cattle and pigs was used, and while it saved millions of lives it also caused allergic reactions in many people. In 1978, the first genetically engineered, synthetic “human” insulin was produced using E. coli bacteria. The first commercially available biosynthetic human insulin was available for use in 1982.

While there are treatments available for people with diabetes, there is still no cure. This year you can donate to help us support researchers in their search for a cure.

Discovery of Insulin Timeline

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Life-changing

Until the discovery of insulin in 1921, diabetes was considered a death sentence. 100 years on it is still giving life to millions of people who otherwise would never have had the chance.

Insulin now comes in many varieties, from regular human insulin identical to the insulin produced by the pancreas, to ultra-rapid and long-acting insulins. People with diabetes can choose the insulin which best suits them and their lifestyle.

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Our commitment to diabetes research

A cure for diabetes will not happen without your help. 100% of your donation will fund world-leading research into diabetes. Help us find a cure and be part of history. Diabetes Australia is one of Australia’s leading supporters of diabetes-related research in Australia. The Diabetes Australia Research Program has funded 250 research grants since 2015. The Diabetes Australia Millennium Awards for type 1 and type 2 diabetes are our major grants providing significant research to some of Australia’s most promising diabetes research projects.

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