Thank you to all who read my earlier Diabetes Pioneer Story, featuring Frederick Banting (see it here) and a special thank you to those who left a comment.
They settled in Shanghai the same year Eva was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
She began insulin therapy after collapsing at the dinner table.
When insulin ran out
As Japanese occupation intensified, pharmacies closed and legal insulin supplies vanished.
After a friend died from contaminated black-market insulin, Eva refused that route. Instead, the couple found “Beckman’s Internal Medicine,” read how Banting and Best had extracted insulin, and decided to try, making insulin from scratch.
Money and materials were scarce. Eva and Victor knitted stockings to fund water-buffalo pancreases, borrowed a small lab, and produced a brown insulin extract.
They tested it on rabbits, then accepting the risks of contamination and unknown potency, Eva tested it on herself. It worked.
A clinic for their community
Victor took the first vial to a nearby hospital and treated two diabetics who were close to death; both survived.
The Saxls then set up a clinic, rationing about 16 units per person per day – enough to keep roughly 400 people with diabetes in the Shanghai ghetto alive.
Rather than charge, they asked for donations to support the man who had lent them the lab.
Liberation and public advocacy
After American forces liberated their Jewish ghetto, the Saxls received clear insulin to distribute.
They later moved to New York, where their work drew national attention: President Eisenhower invited them to the White House, a Hollywood documentary told their story, and Eva became a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association – helping to challenge the stigma surrounding diabetes in the 1940s and 1950s.
Later years and legacy
After Victor died in 1968, Eva moved to Santiago, Chile to join her brother and worked to secure medicines for underprivileged children. She died in 2002.
There will be one more post shortly featuring another Diabetes Pioneer ... but have you read about Dr Judith Steel? If you haven't you can see the post here
As I stated in my earlier post November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and Diabetes.co.uk are celebrating the pioneers of diabetes. I thought readers here may also like to read and learn more about these pioneers!
So, this second post is about Eva Saxl, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1940 at the age of 19. Alongside her husband, Victor, Eva was able to survive World War II by making her own insulin.
In 1940, 19-year-old Eva Saxl fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia with her husband, Victor.
They settled in Shanghai the same year Eva was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
She began insulin therapy after collapsing at the dinner table.
When insulin ran out
As Japanese occupation intensified, pharmacies closed and legal insulin supplies vanished.
After a friend died from contaminated black-market insulin, Eva refused that route. Instead, the couple found “Beckman’s Internal Medicine,” read how Banting and Best had extracted insulin, and decided to try, making insulin from scratch.
Money and materials were scarce. Eva and Victor knitted stockings to fund water-buffalo pancreases, borrowed a small lab, and produced a brown insulin extract.
They tested it on rabbits, then accepting the risks of contamination and unknown potency, Eva tested it on herself. It worked.
A clinic for their community
Victor took the first vial to a nearby hospital and treated two diabetics who were close to death; both survived.
The Saxls then set up a clinic, rationing about 16 units per person per day – enough to keep roughly 400 people with diabetes in the Shanghai ghetto alive.
Rather than charge, they asked for donations to support the man who had lent them the lab.
Liberation and public advocacy
After American forces liberated their Jewish ghetto, the Saxls received clear insulin to distribute.
They later moved to New York, where their work drew national attention: President Eisenhower invited them to the White House, a Hollywood documentary told their story, and Eva became a spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association – helping to challenge the stigma surrounding diabetes in the 1940s and 1950s.
Later years and legacy
After Victor died in 1968, Eva moved to Santiago, Chile to join her brother and worked to secure medicines for underprivileged children. She died in 2002.
Read more about Eva Saxl here
h/t to Diabetes.co.uk here
So thankful for these remarkable people ...
All the best Jan
28 comments:
Wow! I've never heard this before. I can't even imagine making your own insulin. She was a hero.
WHAT A WOMEN - that was amazing!
What an amazing woman, family.
Jan, I enjoyed reading about her. I love that she wasn't having it and found her own way and in that, helped many. Amazing.
I echo Mari's comment, Jan!!!
What this woman accomplished is truly remarkable! A heroine for sure!
I’m glad you shared this history, especially during Diabetes Awareness Month. These pioneers really changed lives and deserve to be remembered.
Wonderful to read and learn more, Jan. Thank you.
That is amazing. How wonderful that she not only managed to survive herself, but the work she did helped keep others alive too. Thank you for mentioning the blogs on my sidebar not updating. I'm glad it rectified itself as I wouldn't have known what I could do to rectify it myself, haha.
Big Niece (now 14) suffers diabetes I since age 6. A big THANK YOU to these people! She´s doing just fine...
Necessity and determination enabled Eva and Victor Saxl to overcome enormous difficulties, and also help others. Amazing story.
Wow, that is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this woman and her story.
Take care, enjoy your day and the new week ahead.
Wonderful and inspiring to learn this.-Christine cmlkz79.blogspot.com
What an amazing story!
Sempre interessanti i tuoi post!
Jan, this is a fabulous story. I don't know who the Pioneer is for GLP-1 and diabetes, but I told you earlier that my brother, Type 1, was on the research and testing for GLP-1 for type 2. Right away his type 1 almost disappeared, kidney function, all blood work improved immensely. The head of the study, his diabetic dr and his PC tried to get him a prescription for GLP-1. However, because the study was for type 2 medicare refused to pay. It would be between $1,500 to $3,000 a month for my brother to buy it on his own. After being off of GLP for 3 month he saw his doctor who is very upset that insurance won't cover type 1. She handed my brother 3 month supply of samples and said she would keep him going until things change, supposedly after the first of the year. Because it dose work for type 1 as well at type 2. My brother is living proof.
An amazing and remarkable woman. A hero.
What a great woman :-D
...an interesting story.
So amazing to read this, thank you for writing about it.
REPLY TO
DVArtist who said ...
Jan, this is a fabulous story. I don't know who the Pioneer is for GLP-1 and diabetes, but I told you earlier that my brother, Type 1, was on the research and testing for GLP-1 for type 2. Right away his type 1 almost disappeared, kidney function, all blood work improved immensely. The head of the study, his diabetic dr and his PC tried to get him a prescription for GLP-1. However, because the study was for type 2 medicare refused to pay. It would be between $1,500 to $3,000 a month for my brother to buy it on his own. After being off of GLP for 3 month he saw his doctor who is very upset that insurance won't cover type 1. She handed my brother 3 month supply of samples and said she would keep him going until things change, supposedly after the first of the year. Because it dose work for type 1 as well at type 2. My brother is living proof.
Hello and many thanks for your comment.
In April 2025 Five scientists won this year’s Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their work on GLP-1 and the development of drugs for diabetes and obesity.
More to read here:-
https://www.the-scientist.com/glp-1-drugs-pioneers-bag-breakthrough-prize-72884
I do hope your brother will be able to get the care and help that he needs for his diabetes.
All the best Jan
That's an incredible story. We had friends over last night and one was just diagnosed with diabetes, the other is a pre-diabetic. The research is really so important...Thanks for sharing.
Muy interesante. Te mando un beso.
Thanks Jan, I probably read this on your blog, but my brain is old.LOL It's very difficult in the US to get good medical care. This next year will be even worse thanks to the "thing" in the white house. I fear for the people here who will lose their health insurance. Again, thank you. I appreciate all the information you put out on this subject and sharing the best recipes. Have a great evening.
Thank you for sharing this inspiring story.
Wow that is amazing, such an awesome life she has lead!
Amazing woman, I had never heard of her story.
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