Diabetes affects nearly 24 million people in the U.S. and 285 million people worldwide, costing more than $174 billion dollars a year in the U.S. alone. As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, the most severe form of the disease.  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that affects children, adolescents, and adults, in which the immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone that enables people to convert food into energy. Those with type 1 diabetes are dependent on insulin for the rest of their life. But insulin is not a cure, and people with diabetes are at significant risk for a wide range of serious complications, including heart disease, blindness and kidney disease. 

JDRF was able to fund $101 million in research last year - only the sixth time in our history that we passed the $100 million mark in research support. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has funded more than $1.4 billion in diabetes research. With an unwavering focus on our mission to find a cure, JDRF annually receives top rankings from magazines and organizations that rate charities. More than 80 percent of our expenditures directly support research and research-related education.