First human use of insulin
In 1922, Leonard Thompson (1908-35), age 14, was the very first person to receive an injection of insulin as a treatment for diabetes. He weighed only 65 pounds and was about to slip into a coma and die. The allergic reaction he displayed was attributed to an impurity in the pioneering extract provided by Drs. Frederick Banting and Charles Best. Twelve days later Thompson received a more purified dose of insulin prepared by Dr. James Collip. His symptoms began to disappear as his blood sugar returned to normal and he regained strength. Before this time, diabetes had inevitably resulted in death within months or even weeks of the diagnosis. Thompson lived another 13 years with the insulin. He died at the age of 27 due to pneumonia, a diabetes complication.
