Test your knowledge on the Canadian discovery that revolutionized diabetes treatment and saved millions of lives.
On July 27, 1921, at the University of Toronto, Canadian surgeon Frederick Banting and medical student Charles Best successfully isolated the hormone insulin. Their breakthrough, conducted under the direction of Professor John Macleod and later with the purification assistance of biochemist James Collip, provided a vital extract from animal pancreases. This led to a momentous event on January 11, 1922, when 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, suffering from severe diabetes, received the first human injection of insulin at Toronto General Hospital, marking a pivotal moment in medical history.
Before this discovery, a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was effectively a death sentence, with limited treatment options primarily involving severe dietary restrictions that could prolong life only for a short time. The introduction of insulin transformed diabetes from a rapidly fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition, dramatically improving life expectancy and quality of life for millions globally. For their monumental achievement, Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923, which they shared with their colleagues.
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Correct Answer: Frederick Banting
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