Annual General Meeting Elections

At the annual general meeting held on 11th April 2006 the following were elected

Chairman: Neil Gatward
Secretary: Surjeet Soin
Assistant Secretary: Anna Lazarewicz
Treasurer: Vinod Shah

13th March 2006

Eastern region opens door to diabetes

The new eastern regional office has officially opened.

Volunteer Surjeet Soin, who has type 2 Diabetes, launched the office based in Witham, Essex, at the ribbon cutting ceremony last week.

Left to right: Tracy Slater, Eastern Regional Manager of Diabetes UK, Rosemary Thomas, Director of Corporate Services at Diabetes UK, volunteer Surjeet Soin and Kathie Tearle, Town Mayor of Witham

Surjeet has previously climbed to the base camp of Mount Everest to raise money for Diabetes UK.

Rosemary Thomas, Director of Corporate Services at Diabetes UK and Kathie Tearle, Town Mayor of Witham, were also at the ceremony.

An open day was held at the new office in Witham to give people an opportunity to find out about Diabetes UK and meet local volunteers of the charity.

Tracy Slater, Eastern Regional Manager of Diabetes UK, said: "Diabetes UK's mission is to improve the lives of people with diabetes and work towards a future without diabetes.

"We estimate that 182,000 people have diabetes in the eastern region, so it is vitally important we have representation to ensure the best care and support. As we open the doors of our new office, we hope to also open the door to a better public understanding of diabetes and better services for all."

14th - 16th February 2006

The man who made medical history- Richard Lane spoke about his battle with diabetes and his successful islet transplant

Richard Lane is a 62-year-old man, who previously had problems controlling his Type 1 diabetes. However, through King's College Hospital , he has successfully received islet cell transplantation and is now 'insulin independent'. Funded by Diabetes UK , this was the third islet cell transplantation to have taken place in the UK and the first fully successful islet transplant. The first two procedures achieved partial success, but both individuals still require small doses of insulin.

During the evening Richard shared his unique experience and explained how his quality of life has dramatically improved since the transplant.

We were really keen to offer the public an opportunity to meet Richard Lane and hear about his amazing experience. This event was well attended gave people the opportunity to listen to a first hand account of what it is like to receive an islet transplant. Richard is a shining example of what Diabetes UK research can achieve and the real difference it can make to the lives of people with diabetes”.