The whole team are extremely grateful to Ian Armstrong for the incredible work he did and life he led confirming that type 1 diabetes doesn’t have to impose any limits. His effervescent personality, strength and commitment have been an inspiration to so many. He did a huge amount to increase understanding of type 1 diabetes in the medical and wider community. He tirelessly championed our research - increasing our own determination to move the field forwards. Thank you Ian.

Why Donate?

1. To improve quality of life for all with type 1 diabetes

2. To provide life-saving islet transplantation for those at highest risk from dangerous hypoglycaemia

3. To pioneer curative therapies, leading to long-term freedom from daily insulin injections  

This is a very positive time for those affected by Type 1 diabetes - with the real prospect of a future without long-term complications almost within reach.

In addition to our existing grant funding*, we are absolutely dependent on further donations through this website to maintain and increase our international competitiveness and to eventually find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.  

So far, funding has allowed us to establish the Islet Isolation and Innovation Hub at Newcastle University, a unique facility dedicated to the manufacture of human insulin-producing islets of the highest quality from research donor pancreas. These islets are vital for enabling key research projects within the Newcastle University Institute of Cellular Medicine and the North East Stem Cell Institute, as well as with our collaborators worldwide. Our research targets curative therapies for diabetes as well as deepening our understanding of diabetes in all of its forms.

Newcastle University’s Hub is aiming to develop a cost-effective process to ensure a constant supply of this invaluable resource for laboratory studies from pancreas provided through the selfless generosity of organ donors and their families.

Our goal is to raise £24,000 to acquire state-of-the-art equipment to aid the islet isolation process, which will free up our highly skilled scientists and allow them to focus on other aspects of this crucial research.

Please donate generously and help our world class Newcastle Research Team to eliminate the suffering and complications
cause by Type 1 diabetes. Your local support is crucial.

*from Diabetes UK,
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation and the Medical Research Council

Recent Successes from Group:

 - The HypoCOMPaSS study, which has confirmed that severe hypoglycaemia can be sustainably prevented in 80% of people who
have had Type 1 diabetes for many years and have lost hypoglycaemia (low sugar
reactions) awareness.

- The Freeman Hospital is a leading centre for transplantation of insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells. The Newcastle team
has recently published evidence confirming how effective this procedure is for those with life-threatening hypoglycaemia.

- Based on charitable donation from the Foundation of Edith and Arthur Wilson, Newcastle University has established the Islet Isolation and Innovation Hub at the International Centre for Life. This is unique in the UK in employing an international team of clinically experienced islet isolators to focus on new approaches which we believe will lead to transformative successes in regenerative medicine for diabetes over the coming years.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page