What You Might Not Know About Diabetics (and how you can help)
First, I am not a diabetic. I have friends who are, but I was never fully aware of the challenges many diabetics face until I completed a start up project this last semester.
The Problem:
In the United States, over 100 million adults are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. 30 million people, about ⅓ of that population, are diabetics. Unfortunately, there are many people in this population who are unable to afford the medicine and supplies necessary to stay healthy, and in some cases, remain alive. These large numbers are important to note, but can often be dehumanizing to the individual lives that are impacted by diabetes. Simply put, there is a monopoly on insulin and diabetic related supplies, caused by over a decade of healthcare politics and economics. Every type 1 diabetic requires an incredible amount of supplies, most of which are a matter of life and death. Thus, businesses can charge practically any price and people will continue to pay because there is no cheap, direct substitute for products like test strips or insulin. People with type 1 diabetes incur an astounding average of $9,601 per year in expenses that can be directly attributed to treating diabetes. For those who are well-insured, this does not create an issue. However, many individuals are not well-insured and lack the ability to handle these expenses, driving them to extreme measures. One in four people with diabetes have admitted to rationing insulin. Rationing or not taking insulin can lead to Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA),and may result in death.
Our Solution
The group I worked with this semester sought to provide a solution to this problem through collecting and redistributing diabetic supplies through donations to local drives or hospitals. The aim is to target suppliers, mainly those who are diabetic, but insured. We began with other students at UVA, and look to work up to a broader audience. The accumulation of surplus supplies is extremely common. The supplies in reference are general supplies used that can be bought commercially, such as test strips or meters.
Our Attempt
Considering how ambitious this venture is, as far as finding a supply side through donation with nothing but essentially a social incentive, we determined Charlottesville would make a great starting point in order to determine the traction it would pick up. The difficult aspect of this venture is mitigating the amount of risk associated with each step moving forward. A website seemed the logical solution, creating an interface that differentiates supplies by type, brand, and pricing, and enables uninsured diabetics easy access to the supplies they need. However, this is time consuming, and doesn’t have the immediate impact that going person to person does, and would lack gaining the critical initial first customers. The end goal would be a centralized marketplace to donate and purchase diabetic supplies and connect with other diabetics to form a social support group. This idea is novel; existing discounted diabetic supply sales generally stem from the activities of one individual — by starting to build a network of diabetic donors and financially-challenged purchasers, with hopes to have an extensive impact on diabetics across the United States. Not only does this concept create a significant financial opportunity, it also has the opportunity to generate a massive social impact in the diabetic community and advance the public health area through offering an alternative method to procure personal diabetic supplies. For now though, we texted, called, and met up with other students and friends we knew were diabetics and simply asked, “Do you have excess supplies you no longer use?”
The Results
In a short amount of time, we procured $3,000 worth of diabetic supplies, all donated. We then donated the supplies to the hospital here at UVA, and… it felt pretty good to help. Only if it was a little.
Help Out
If you want, check out the UVA Healthcare page here for donations!
Or, contact us! Reach us through email:
thediabeticsource@gmail.com
