NEW CENTRE OFFERS HOPE IN FIGHT AGAINST JUVENILE DIABETES

The Howard Government has honoured its election commitment to provide $30 million dollars to establish a Centre of Excellence for diabetes research. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) will receive funding over five years for the new research centre. The Centre will focus on islet cell transplantation which promises to lead to a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Juvenile or Type 1 diabetes affects an estimated 95,000 Australians. The number of children diagnosed with this form of diabetes in Australia has doubled in the last decade. It is a life-long chronic disease that is at present incurable and can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, nerve damage, blindness and amputation. The Centre of Excellence will direct its work at refining islet cell transplantation procedures. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is ideally placed to coordinate Australian islet cell transplantations. The foundation has affiliations with international islet transplant research centres, partnerships with other research bodies and access to the support and expertise provided by its parent agency JDRF International. Media contact: Kate Miranda 0417 425 227