A new laboratory, providing groundbreaking treatment for people with Type 1 diabetes will be launched in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

The Scottish Islet Isolation Laboratory will be the only UK facility to offer state-of-the-art cell transplants for patients whose condition cannot be controlled through drugs and diet.

Until now, those patients would have had to undergo a risky full pancreas transplant.

Scientists at the new facility will be able to extract insulin producing Islet cells from a healthy donor pancreas and inject them directly into a vein leading to the patients liver.

The cells will then remain and work in the liver, negating the need for surgery and allowing the patient to lead a normal life.

In its first year, the clinic will aim to help around 12 patients, as long as there are enough donor organs.

John Casey, lead clinician for the Islet Cell Programme, said: "Islet isolation is a new and highly skilled technique which can prove life saving for some patients who are unaware of the level of sugar in their blood.

"This technique depends on organ donors, but work at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University gives hope that in the not too distant future islets will be able to be produced from stem cells."

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which is most frequently diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. Patients are dependent on insulin injections to survive.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said: "I'm delighted to be launching this groundbreaking programme which will be of great benefit to some groups of people living with Type 1 diabetes.

"The programme's creation represents a significant investment by NHS Scotland in helping to tackle a condition that affects increasing numbers of young people.

"It's also made possible by the close collaboration between the pancreas transplant programme at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine."

The programme is a joint project by Lothian Health Board, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) and Edinburgh University.