Allogenic Islet Cell Transplantation

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have type I diabetes mellitus, documented by undetectable C-peptide. Patients must have been diabetic for at least five years, and be aged 18 - 58 years. * Patients must be on an intensive regimen of glucose monitoring and exogenous insulin injection (defined as greater than or equal to three checks and injections per day). This regimen must be prescribed and supervised by the patient's diabetologist. * Despite intensive therapy, patients must have at least one of the following: * Brittle diabetes (metabolic instability), as defined by elevated mean amplitude of glycemic excursion; * Hypoglycemic unawareness, with at least one episode in the past two years in which hypoglycemia required the assistance of another person (e.g., family member, emergency medical technician \[EMT\], etc.), and was associated with a fingerstick blood glucose (FSBG) of \< 50 mg/dl and prompt recovery after administration of oral glucose, intravenous glucose, or glucagon; * Progressive complications of diabetes (nephropathy manifested by proteinuria, retinopathy documented by an ophthalmologist after dilated eye exam, or neuropathy as determined by a neurologist). * Patients must be able to give informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Failure to meet inclusion criteria * Panel of Reactive Antibody (PRA) \> 10% * Creatinine clearance \< 80 mL/min * Prior organ transplant * Portal hypertension: this refers to portal hypertension diagnosed previously by any …