INDIANAPOLIS -- A little-known option in the fight against diabetes is gaining national attention for an Indianapolis hospital where it's being touted as a cure for the disease.

A pancreas transplant can all but eliminate type 1 diabetes, the kind that usually develops in children and young adults, doctors at Indiana University Hospital told 6News' Trisha Shepherd.

"Once they get the transplant, basically, they're no longer diabetic," said Dr. Jonathan Fridell. "They no longer have to watch everything they eat and try to decide how much insulin they're going to take."

In the past four years, Indiana University Hospital has performed more pancreas transplants than any other facility in the nation, Fridell said.

Sarah Baker, an occupational therapist diagnosed with diabetes at age 13, had long struggled with the disease.

"I was considered a brittle diabetic, with my highs and lows," she said. "It was very, very stressful and just hard."

But difficult became life-threatening when Baker's blood sugar crashed during her honeymoon in Mexico.

"My husband happened to get up in the middle of the night and noticed the sheets were soaking and I was not responding," she said. "It was the scariest moment for me and my husband. We're just starting off together and I almost didn't wake up."

It took an IV to revive Baker. When she returned home, she said she vowed to follow up on something she'd heard about pancreas transplants.

Now, months later, she's living life free of the disease that had plagued her for years.

"It feels amazing. It feels like a new life," she said. "It's a miracle for me, and I would definitely recommend it."

The procedure is major surgery, and patients must remain on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives.

Fridell said he recommends the option only for those whose diabetes is out of control and causing serious complications. Indiana University Hospital currently has a pancreas transplant wait list of less than two months.