JDRF: Level 4, 80-84 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 Tel 02 9966 0400 Fax 02 9966 0172 WWW www.jdrf.org.au
Media Alert
24 July 2009
The World’s Biggest Fingerprick
Kids with type 1 diabetes head to Parliament House
40 children with type 1 diabetes from around Victoria will visit Parliament House for Kids in the House on
Tuesday 28 July to tell the state’s politicians about their hopes for a cure and to issue a challenge:
participate in the World’s Biggest Fingerprick to share a moment of life with type 1 diabetes.
V8 Supercar driver Jack Perkins, who has type 1 diabetes, will lead the mass, simultaneous
fingerprick. MPs, the media and supporters are invited to take part. With over 100 people expected to
prick their finger to share a moment of life with type 1 diabetes, it is believed to be a world first.
Fingerpricks are an essential part of the painful daily routine that keeps people with type 1 diabetes alive.
Children and adults with type 1 diabetes, who number 30,000 in Victoria, need to check their blood
glucose levels 4-6 times a day on average. This enables them to calculate their insulin dose, and when
this complex juggling act works properly, it helps to reduce the risk of long term complications like
blindness, stroke and kidney disease.
JDRF CEO Mike Wilson said “Victoria is a recognised centre of excellence for medical research and
JDRF supports more than 20 projects in this state, which represents around 100 researchers. These
dedicated scientists have recently broken new ground and there are now more therapies in human
clinical trials than ever before.”
“As an autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by a complex mixture of genetic
and environmental factors - but not by an unhealthy diet or obesity. A cure for type 1 diabetes is needed
urgently as the rate of new cases in children in this country is rising by 3% every year.”
Join JDRF for the World’s Biggest Fingerprick!
Where
Steps of Parliament House Victoria, No. 1 Spring Street Melbourne
When
Tuesday 28 July at 10.00 am
Photo and
Interview
Opportunities
100 people (40 children with type 1 diabetes plus around 60 supporters)
simultaneously pricking their finger
V8 Supercar driver Jack Perkins, who has type 1 diabetes
Victorian politicians
Renowned Victorian scientist Professor Warwick Anderson AM, CEO of the
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
International diabetes expert Dr Bob Goldstein MD PhD, Senior VP Scientific
Affairs, JDRF International
Type 1 diabetes – the facts – There are 140,000 Australians with type 1 diabetes and with five new cases every day, Australia has one of the highest rates in the
world. The number of Australian children being diagnosed with this disease is increasing by 3% every year. Typically striking young people, type 1 diabetes destroys
the ability to produce insulin, which is vital for life. It requires an essential daily regime of multiple injections or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump, as well
as 6 – 8 finger-prick blood tests. Type 1 diabetes is associated with a significantly increased risk of serious health complications. The Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation is the world’s largest not-for-profit supporter of diabetes research and has invested over $1.6 billion since inception in 1970. The mission of JDRF is
constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
For more information please contact Lyndal Howison on 0411 110 717
NEWS 
