( CNN ) -- The e-mail ended with a question that belied the author 's pain : `` It 's a small world , is n't it ? '' Michael Schofield read the message from Elizabeth Baptiste again . Baptiste worked at AT & T , just like him . She had three sons , like him . And her youngest , Michael , was the donor who had changed his life . `` It sent shivers down my body , you know , because you do n't expect ... '' Schofield 's voice , with its lingering Liverpool accent , trails off . Schofield , 53 , was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1982 . People who have Type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin , a hormone the body needs to convert sugar and starches into energy . Their white blood cells attack and destroy the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas . Like most Type 1 diabetics , Schofield learned to control his diabetes with insulin injections and constant monitoring . But he still experienced hypoglycemic attacks when his blood sugar levels got too low . It was like being in a fog -- one he could n't escape until someone helped him . If it went on too long , he would lose consciousness . As he got older , Schofield 's body adapted to the extreme lows ; so when his blood sugar levels dropped below normal , he did n't experience the typical symptoms . In other words , he did n't know he was in danger until he passed out . `` Over time , your body just starts to break down , '' he says . `` They say ( diabetes ) is a slow killer , and it is . '' Tiny cells offer hope . Pancreas transplants for patients such as Schofield are not typically an option because they are difficult to perform , said Dr. Michael Rickels , associate professor of medicine at University of Pennsylvania . But an experimental procedure using the pancreas ' islet cells is being tested at medical centers around the country . If it 's approved by the Food and Drug Administration , it could make a difference for patients who are no longer able to successfully manage their diabetes . Islet cells contain beta cells that produce insulin , as well as alpha cells that produce a hormone called glucagon . Both are used to regulate the body 's glucose , or sugar , levels . In the 1990s , scientists in Alberta , Canada , figured out how to isolate these islets from a deceased donor 's pancreas and transplant them into the liver of a diabetic patient . The procedure was dubbed the `` Edmonton Protocol . '' Since then , researchers have been trying to improve the survival rate of the cells during transplantation . Most patients who undergo the procedure now need two infusions of islet cells to maintain normal glucose levels long-term . Rickels and his colleagues recently published a study in the journal Diabetes detailing a new protocol , which gives the extracted islets three days to `` rest '' before they 're transferred to the living recipient . All of the patients in Rickels ' study were able to come off insulin therapy for at least a year after a single transplant . Data from patients in other countries where the procedure has already been approved shows some patients can stop using insulin for anywhere from five to 10 years , Rickels said . Schofield had been following the islet cell research since the 1990s . One Saturday morning , after a particularly bad hypoglycemic attack , he decided to fill out a survey to see whether he qualified for a trial funded by the National Institutes of Health . Two days later , he received a message from the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco . Schofield flew from his home in Scottsdale , Arizona , to California to learn more about the transplant . Dr. Andrew Posselt , director of the Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplant Program at UCSF , told Schofield that the procedure would take less than two hours and he would be home within two or three days . He would , however , have to remain on immunosuppressant drugs the rest of his life . The drugs prevent the patient 's white blood cells from attacking the new islet cells , Posselt explained . The next year was filled with medical tests . Schofield did n't receive a donor pancreas in time to participate in the government trial . But he discovered his employer health insurance would pay for the experimental transplant . His doctors helped him submit a request to the FDA to get the private procedure approved . Now all he needed was a donor . A life cut short . Michael Baptiste was a good kid , his mom , Elizabeth , says . `` Growing up , he was my pain in the butt , '' she remembers with a laugh . `` He was my third child . He was the one who gave me the headaches . '' He was also a giving person . When his mom took him to the DMV to get his driver 's license , he checked the organ donor box without hesitation . At 23 , he was taking responsibility for his life and his family . He was going to school to become an electrician . He worked nights at Home Depot to provide for his 5-year-old daughter , Angelina . He took his mom to Disneyland . `` He was moving up , '' Elizabeth Baptiste says . `` And it was cut short . '' On March 25 , 2012 , Michael Baptiste was goofing off with friends in a restaurant parking lot . He fell out of a car while the driver was doing donuts , and he hit his head . Doctors kept him alive for six days before pronouncing him brain dead . A few days later Schofield , received his first infusion of islet cells . Two weeks later , he was off insulin . He looked down at his glucose monitor one day and saw a flat line for the first time in 30 years . `` That was euphoria , '' he says . He still wears his monitor to this day , enjoying the high looking at the flat line gives him . Schofield sent a note to his anonymous donor 's family , thanking them for giving him a second chance at life . He then began speaking publicly about his transplant , urging the FDA to approve the procedure for others in the United States . `` People need to be aware that this is an effective alternative treatment , '' Posselt said . `` Funding is very difficult to get for this kind of procedure in the U.S. ; as a result , we 're falling behind other countries . '' Two human clinical trials are underway in the United States . Once both are completed , researchers will submit the data to the FDA for review . Rickels hopes in the next two to three years , all his and his colleagues ' hard work will pay off . Only about 5 % of people with diabetes have Type 1 , according to the American Diabetes Association . Islet cell transplantation can not help those with Type 2 diabetes , Posselt said , because they already produce insulin -- their bodies just have a greater resistance to the hormone . `` I think that this procedure can definitely benefit some diabetics , but I do n't think it 's the panacea for every diabetic , '' he said . Saying thank you . On June 1 , Schofield met Elizabeth Baptiste at Pier 39 in San Francisco . She wore a Donald Duck T-shirt to represent her son 's favorite Disney character . When she saw Schofield , she waved her hand high in the air and had a flashback to the days when she used to do the same for Michael when he ran off in a crowd . The meeting was a mix of emotions for Schofield . `` It 's a happy moment that I got the transplant , got to meet her , say thank you , '' Schofield remembers . `` It 's a sad moment because having three children of my own , I ca n't imagine the pain . '' But for Baptiste , it was therapeutic . She has n't heard from any of her son 's other recipients . `` I 've told people , ' I know my son is dead , ' `` she says . `` But I know other people have his parts , so I know he 's still alive . Michael came to me at the right time . ... I needed a hug from my son , and that 's what he was there for . ''
Islet cell transplantation might offer hope to patients with Type 1 diabetes . Patients who benefit are struggling with extreme blood sugar swings . Scientists will complete two human clinical trials before submitting data to FDA .