About

Mission Statement

The McGill University Health Centre Human Islet Transplant Laboratory (MHITL) is a unique resource in the field of diabetes research and innovation. Located in the McGill University and Genome Québec Innovation Centre in Montréal, Québec, this state-of-the-art facility provides highly purified preparations of insulin-producing Islets of Langerhans from donated human pancreases under expressed research consent. This vital material is used in novel clinical applications for the treatment of type 1 diabetics, as well as for fundamental research projects studying all forms of diabetes. It is our aim to expand both the clinical and research networks of the MHITL to achieve the fullest potential of our program. 

Islet Isolation Facility

The Health Canada registered MHITL consists of 2,200 ft² of dedicated laboratory and office space, designed to comply with GMP, Health Canada and CSA standards. Islets are isolated by highly trained personnel from donor pancreases inside a centralized, ISO class 7 cleanroom. Pancreas preparation, enzymatic dissociation, and purification are performed using custom-made equipment, followed by culturing of islets within the cleanroom suite incubators. A separate Research and Development Laboratory within the declassified area of the MHITL enables release testing criteria analyses. All isolation parameters and images are cataloged and saved to our network servers for quality assurance.