(New York, NY, Thursday, October 31, 2019) – National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM) takes place in November. More than 1.25 million Americans currently live with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and are dependent on insulin to survive.
JDRF is leading the global scientific charge against T1D by channeling billions into research while also working to secure funding from the Federal government, through the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), and private sources.
This NDAM, JDRF recognizes T1D Champions – the people living with T1D, their loved ones, researchers, advocates, volunteers, and donors – who are helping to improve lives and move us closer to cures.
JDRF advocates across the country are calling on Congress to pass a multi-year renewal of the SDP, a critical program that provides $150 million annually for T1D research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Short-term funding for the SDP expires in November. Renewal of the SDP is JDRF’s top legislative priority to ensure promising research can continue delivering results toward better treatments, therapies, and – ultimately – cures for T1D. Thanks to the SDP we’ve seen incredible progress over the years – technology advances have revolutionized how people manage T1D, new approaches are preventing complications, and beta cell replacement therapy and immunotherapy are promising avenues toward cures.
About T1D: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent T1D, and — at present — nothing you can do to get rid of it.
ABOUT JDRF: JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Its mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2.2 billion in research funding since its inception.