Several families in B.C. are calling on the provincial government to pay for the high cost of insulin pumps that have the potential to save diabetic children's lives.

Insulin pumps are devices that can be attached to the user and allow diabetics to regulate their blood sugar levels by delivering insulin through a plastic tube that is inserted under the skin.

Considered by many to be a more effective alternative to needles, they are nevertheless expensive, costing up to $7,000.

In Newfoundland and Ontario, the cost of insulin pumps is covered under provincial health care programs. But in B.C. it is not.

As a result, Abby Davies, a six-year-old from Kamloops who has Type 1 diabetes, is using a borrowed pump to keep her healthy, because her family cannot afford the cost of a new pump.

Abby's mother Chrissie Davies says the insulin pump is a necessity, not a choice, for her family, and it's time the health care system covered the cost so her daughter can live a full and healthy life.

Without the pump, Davies said, Abby needed up to 10 injections a day which resulted in chronic high blood sugars, putting her life at risk.

"She was sick (when using injections)," she said. "Kids die from this, they go into a coma and they die."

Dr. Trent Smith, the Davies' family doctor, agrees the cost of the pumps should be covered through the provincial program for children.

When asked for comment, B.C. Health Minister George Abbott says the issue is under review.

The mother of a Port Hardy, B.C. child who suffers from diabetes, said her family is paying for the cost of the pump in installments of $140 per month over four years.

While expensive, Janet Cesaretti says the pump allows her three-year-old son Parker to lead a normal life.

Cesaretti says she can't understand why the health system cannot help to cover the cost.

Meanwhile, the Davies family is turning to online fundraising efforts to cover the cost of a pump. The fundraising effort has already raised close to $4,000.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat