Heritage Minute marks 100th anniversary of work to discover insulin

TORONTO – A new Heritage Minute is marking the 100th anniversary of groundbreaking research that led to the discovery of insulin.

Historica Canada released the latest in its ongoing series which highlights some of the country’s crowning achievements.

Set in late 1921, the minute-long video centres on 13-year-old Leonard Thompson, the first patient to receive successful injections for his Type 1 diabetes.

As Thompson’s health deteriorates, the short also follows scientists developing insulin at the University of Toronto, including Frederick Banting and Charles Best, as well as J.J.R. Macleod and James Collip.

Insulin is considered by some as the most important medical discovery of the 20th century.

It would eventually lift a death sentence for millions of people around the globe who suffered from diabetes.

The Heritage Minute is co-written by Nimisha Mukerji and Mark Ratzlaff, who also directed the production.

Film and TV actor Victor Garber narratives the English version while athlete Sébastien Sasseville narrates the French.

Both men have spoken about their Type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

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Watch the insulin Heritage Minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amCeBhkNo50

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2021.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version included a misspelling of producer Mark Ratzlaff’s name.