Frequently Asked Questions

Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system of  a person (often between infancy and adolescence) attacks the insulin producing cells of the pancreas

The cause of Type 1 Diabetes is a combination of genetic mutations and various unknown environmental factors such as a virus, which triggers the immune system to attack the pancreas

Type 2 Diabetes is a product of an unhealthy lifestyle and genetics that can cause a person to become resistant against the effects of insulin and produce less of it. Type 1 Diabetes has nothing to do with personal health decisions.

Insulin is a hormone that transports sugars from your bloodstream into your cells for energy. Without insulin, sugars build up in the bloodstream and can become fatal.

People with Type 1 Diabetes need artificial insulin to compensate for their pancreas not being able to produce it anymore. It is also sometimes used for Type 2 Diabetes in tandem with other medicines. People with Type 1 can inject insulin into the fatty parts of their body (lower stomach, leg, and back of the arms) or they can use insulin pumps to deliver insulin into their body 24/7.

At the present moment there is no cure for type 1 Diabetes aside from some circumstances in which older patients in need of a kidney transplant have been able to see some success with an additional pancreas transplant, but this procedure is only available to patients undergoing a different transplant where their donor is deceased with a viable pancreas, and this is very rare. Research organizations such as the JDRF work toward the funding of research to find a cure someday.