JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

JDRF is the only UK charity specialising in type 1 diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly, regardless of their diet or lifestyle. Over 400,000 people in the UK live with type 1. It’s unpreventable and at present, there is no cure. With type 1, your pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body should do automatically becomes something that now requires your manual intervention and daily attention. With type 1, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or deliver insulin through a pump, and carefully balance insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night. We are proud to be part of the world’s leading type 1 diabetes organisation, JDRF International, a group of five international charities driving prevention, better treatments and cures so – ultimately – no one will have to take insulin to stay alive.

We’re committed to eradicating type 1 diabetes. And until the day we find a cure, we focus on three areas:

Cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes

Globally, JDRF has funded £2 billion in critical research to find a cure faster, improve treatment and prevent type 1 and its complications. JDRF research has led to exciting new developments in diabetes technology and treatment, and is laying the foundations for a cure.

Accelerate access to type 1 treatment technologies and medicines

We work with policy makers and advocate for better treatment through the NHS, including providing access to type 1 technology for everyone who wants to use it. We give a voice to people with type 1 and campaign for increased focus on, and funding for, research to find the cure.

Support people living with type 1 diabetes

Many of our staff have type 1 or are parents of children with the condition. For us, finding a cure for type 1 is personal. We support and connect people living with the condition and parents of children diagnosed with type 1. We provide information and resources to help people manage their condition. If we can raise enough money to fund ground-breaking research and cutting-edge advances in technology, then we'll achieve our vision of a world without type 1. We have in our sights a time when people will not need to take insulin to stay alive. If you, or someone you love, lives with type 1 diabetes, you know how important it is that more people help us get to a world without type 1 diabetes.

That's why, as well as funding research, we also give a voice to people with type 1. We campaign for greater research funding and for access to the treatments and technologies to make your life easier today. We also work to differentiate type 1 from type 2 diabetes and provide information for all stages of living with type 1; from diagnosis and beyond.

Find out more here - www.jdrf.org.uk