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GREENSBORO - At age 7, Chandler Simpson learned she had Type 1 diabetes. And at almost the same time, she learned that she was going to have a sibling who might someday help cure the disease.

Researchers at Wake Forest University's Institute for Regenerative Medicine are trying to grow cells in the lab that, once implanted in the body, will render Type 1 diabetes a thing of the past.

That goal remains years off. But if it is reached, it could prevent debilitating ailments in, and perhaps save many of the lives of, the roughly 1 million Americans with Type 1 diabetes.

That's what Chandler, now 9, and her family hope for. And that hope rests in part on cells taken from the amniotic fluid, placenta and umbilical cord of her baby sister, Isabelle.

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The path to the discovery of Chandler's diabetes began in March 2006, on the Greensboro family's five-hour journey to the beach. Thirty minutes into the trip, she became so thirsty that they pulled over to get her a drink.

Thirty minutes later, they had to stop again. And at a meal stop, she "ate a record number of chicken nuggets," her father, Sam Simpson, recalls.

He and his wife, Ashley, thought it might be a growth spurt. But on their return, Sam Simpson mentioned to a friend what had happened.

Sounds like diabetes, the friend said.

A week later, Chandler developed a stomach ache so severe that her parents took her to the doctor. The doctor found her blood-sugar levels to be more than eight times normal, a clear sign of diabetes.

In hindsight, the Simpsons believe that a virus Chandler contracted in 2005 led to the death of the insulin-producing cells in her pancreas.

They also believe she had had diabetes for some time before it was diagnosed. Extreme hunger and thirst, although classic symptoms, are not the earliest ones.

Chandler spent several days in the hospital. Severely dehydrated, her body had begun to consume its own muscles for nourishment. That consumption not only cost her 15 percent of her body weight, it also led to dangerously high levels of acid in her blood.

While she was in the hospital, she learned how to check her blood-sugar levels and give herself insulin shots. "It was not the funnest week of Chandler's life," Sam Simpson says.

Just four days before Chandler entered the hospital, Ashley Simpson learned that she was pregnant.

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About a month later, a friend told Ashley Simpson she'd heard Dr. Anthony Atala, the director of the institute, speak about its work, particularly in diabetes research using stem cells taken from amniotic fluid.

She told her husband, who looked Atala up online. Then he e-mailed Atala. I have a daughter newly diagnosed with diabetes, and my wife is pregnant, Sam Simpson wrote. Is there anything we can do?

The Simpsons figured he'd be too busy to get back to them. But "he called me back" - Sam Simpson snaps a finger - "immediately."

Atala put the Simpsons in touch with an organization that collects blood from the umbilical cords of newborn babies. That blood contains stem cells that have been used for years to treat serious disorders in the child they came from or their close relatives.

The organization normally didn't store amniotic fluid but agreed to store Ashley Simpson's. Atala and a colleague, Dr. Shay Soker, who is leading the institute's diabetes research, told the Simpsons its stem cells were Chandler's best hope for a cure.

When baby Isabelle was born in late 2006, the Simpsons also collected and banked her umbilical cord and placenta, just in case.

And now they wait.

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Meanwhile, Chandler has to take a shot of insulin at every meal and a fourth shot at night.

"She is brave enough to do her own shots," Sam Simpson says. "I've never been brave enough" to do them for her.

And Sam Simpson has not only educated himself about Chandler's disease, he also has joined the fight against it as a member of the Piedmont Triad board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. At its 2007 fundraiser, the group raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in one night.

With that money and other funds, researchers at Wake Forest might one day use cells from Isabelle's amniotic fluid, placenta or umbilical cord to cure Chandler's diabetes.

If that happens, Sam Simpson says, "(Isabelle) will get the top bunk forever."

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lex.alexander@news-record.com