Curing Diabetes, Pigs Turn to Lions( MINNEAPOLIS June 26 -- Receiving mor...),Health

MINNEAPOLIS, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Receiving more than $80,000 from Minnesota and Wisconsin Multiple District Lions Clubs over the past years, Spring Point Project, a non profit organization developing pig donors for pancreatic islet transplantation to cure diabetes, is attending the Lions Clubs International 92nd Convention. Over 12,000 Lions delegates from more than 200 countries are expected to attend the convention July 6-10, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minn.

Spring Point Project will be giving presentations to inform Lions members of this very promising progress toward a diabetes cure. The research is in partnership with Spring Point Project and the Schulze Diabetes Institute at the University of Minnesota. Clinical trials are anticipated to begin within a year.

"The ongoing endorsement and support of the Lions Clubs members and their financial contributions has been extremely important and uplifting to Spring Point Project. It's great to see two nonprofit organizations joining together toward the cure for diabetes," says Henk-Jan Schuurman, Ph.D., Spring Point Project CEO. "The Lions Clubs are, perhaps, best known for their work with eye sight programs, but given that blindness can result from diabetes, Spring Point Project is a natural fit."

Local Lions chapters work to develop their own programs to support diabetes research and education. A year ago, the Minnesota Lions Diabetes Foundation, Inc. was established by the Lions Clubs of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba and Ontario -- a division of the International Association of Lions Clubs. This group will be spearheading future Lions fundraising efforts to support Spring Point Project and the Schulze Diabetes Institute.

Schuurman adds, "Although the Minnesota Lions Diabetes Foundation is newly initiated, some Lions members have been connected to diabetes awareness for years. In particular, we are very fortunate to partn
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