23
LIVING
We're constantly looking at new
technologies and asking if we should
be looking at smart pens, different
sensors and more."
While technology plays an
important part in the management
of Hugo's Type 1, Steve and Sally
believe in the power of research to
bring about better treatments, and
eventually a cure.
The Morgans were introduced
to JDRF and the world of Type 1
research when Hugo was being
cared for by the Countess of Chester
Hospital. Sally explains: "Hugo was
given a KIDSAC that contained
Rufus the bear. That bear especially
helped Hugo, he would frequently
use it to practice injections and
explain his condition to teachers
and classmates. Philanthropy is
important to us, so I decided to do
some due diligence into JDRF as a
charity. We liked what we learned
and 12 months after Hugo's diagnosis
we approached the charity about
making a meaningful donation."
Steve and Sally have a long history
of philanthropic giving. In 2001
Steve founded the Steve Morgan
Foundation to support projects
that help children and families,
people with physical or learning
disabilities, the elderly, or those that
are socially disadvantaged in North
Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire.
Since its launch, the Foundation
has committed assets of £300m to
charities and supported over 2,000
grants, which have benefitted more
than three million people.
"Four years ago, we donated £3m
to JDRF," says Steve. "We wanted
it to go directly into research. We
followed through with subsequent
grants. We've never, ever just sat
back and written cheques. We don't
want what we donate to end up being
swallowed up by the administration
costs, we want it to go directly to
where it's needed. In this case to
finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes."
The latest donation of £50
million will be directed into three
main avenues of research. Over the
next five years the partnership will
Hugo Morgan in JDRF t-shirt.
challenge scientists to come up with
pioneering research ideas focussing
on new insulins, treatments to
stop the immune system's attack
on insulin-making beta cells and
treatments to rescue and replace
beta cells.
"When we told Hugo about the
£50m donation, he just burst into
tears and gave Steve a great big hug,"
says Sally. "It shows the size of what
he has to deal with on a day-to-day
basis due to his Type 1 diabetes. The
donation is for everyone living with
Type 1, it gives us all hope."
The scale of the donation and
ambitions of the Type 1 Diabetes
Grand Challenge will allow the
partnership to make bigger strides
forward in the search for more
effective treatments and eventually
a cure, giving everyone with Type
1 hope that in the future Type 1
diabetes won't be the continuous
burden that it currently is.
"It would be in our wildest dreams
to get a cure at the end of these five
years," says Steve. "If nothing else it
will bring forward that day."
It would be in our
wildest dreams to
get a cure at the
end of these five
years, if nothing
else it will bring
forward that day.
~Steve Morgan