Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to support and promote diabetes research. Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that affects the body’s ability to properly manufacture or utilize insulin, a hormone necessary for the body to transport food glucose into cells for energy. There are several types of diabetes including insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM (also known as juvenile diabetes); non-insulin dependent (type II, also known as adult-onset diabetes); and gestational diabetes. Established in 1974 and consisting of 14 chapters, JDF supports research advances in therapies to reduce the risk of diabetes-caused blindness, decrease the number of amputations due to diabetes, and control high blood pressure associated with diabetes; disease management practices that help maintain tight control of glucose levels to prevent or delay complications of diabetes; and practices that afford women with diabetes the opportunity for safe pregnancies and healthy children.