State Representative
Todd Van Dellen

ST. PAUL Today children with diabetes will be at the Minnesota State Capitol to urge elected officials to support increased funding for diabetes research. The children are part of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation's (JDF) Children's Assembly, the first- ever gathering of children from across the state to advocate for a diabetes cure. Their goal--to meet with their State representatives, senators, and the governor and put a face to a disease that affects over 16 million Americans. The JDF Minnesota Children's Assembly builds upon the national JDF Children's Congress which was held in Washington, DC in June 1999.

"I was a delegate to the national JDF Children's Congress and we thought it was such a great opportunity to meet with our U.S. Members of Congress and tell them how much we need their support to find a cure. Now, we're bringing this message home to our own State legislators so they know that we urgently need their help," said Dana Heser, a 17-year-old teen with diabetes from Dodge Center. "Finding a cure isn't an option-it's the only way that people like me will have more to look forward to than blindness, kidney failure, heart attack and even stroke." Diabetes kills one American every three minutes.

The key legislator leading the charge for the Children's Assembly is Minnesota State Representative Henry Todd Van Dellen. Today he will introduce a bill to urge that $10 million be allocated for research at the University of Minnesota Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation-research that could benefit patients with diabetes and other deadly diseases.

"The bill I will put forth today, asks that $10 million be taken from the Minnesota tobacco settlement proceeds and be allocated for diabetes research," said Representative Van Dellen. "Diabetes affects 250,000 Minnesotans and costs the Minnesota economy more than $1.7 billion each year. We must find a cure, for our children and for all people who suffer from this deadly disease. I strongly believe that these resources are critical to advancing the cutting-edge research conducted at the University of Minnesota, which has one of the world's most prestigious diabetes research institutes."

If passed, the bill would provide the Diabetes Institute of the University of Minnesota with funds for research in islet transplantation and distribution. Islets are located in the pancreas and produce insulin which is necessary to sustain life. In people with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes these cells are destroyed by an autoimmune process and they must take multiple daily injections of insulin just to stay alive. Insulin however, is not a cure and does not prevent complications such as blindness, kidney disease, amputations, heart attack or stroke. To date, JDF has committed approximately $8.4 million to the University of Minnesota for diabetes research.

"The only way we will find a cure for diabetes is through research and JDF is so proud to partner with Representative Van Dellen in urging passage of this bill," said Dianne Lefty, Co-Chair of the JDF Children's Assembly. "Representative Van Dellen is a true champion for people with diabetes and I urge all Minnesotans to write to their elected officials in support of his diabetes bill to fast-track islet transplantation. This is one of the most promising options in our quest for a cure, but we need everyone's help," added Pam Sagan, also Co-Chair of the Assembly.

JDF is the world's leading nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of diabetes research. It was founded in 1970 by parents of children with diabetes. JDF's mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research, and since its inception has provided more than $326 million to diabetes research worldwide. For more information, visit our website: www.jdf.org or call 612-851-0770.

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