Founder of Deeside based Redrow gives £3m towards finding cure for type 1 diabetes

The chairman of Deeside based housebuilder Redrow has donated £3m to fund research into type 1 diabetes after his stepson was diagnosed with the condition.

Steve Morgan made the donation through his charitable foundation to help fund research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The £3m donation by Steve Morgan Foundation (SMF) is double the previous largest donation ever received by global research charity JDRF the world’s leading type 1 diabetes charity.

Mr Morgan and wife Sally (pictured above) a trustee of the SMF, are spearheading the investment into the charity’s ambitious research programme to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, following the diagnosis of eight-year-old Hugo, Sally’s son and Steve’s stepson.

“Sally and I have experienced first-hand the enormous impact that a type 1 diabetes diagnosis can have on a family,” says Steve, Founder and Chairman of the Steve Morgan Foundation and also Redrow PLC.

“From the initial stages of Hugo experiencing symptoms, to him being diagnosed and finding out how we manage this life-long condition, it has turned our lives upside down.

We are in a fortunate position to be able to make a difference, and we hope this donation will prove a significant step towards funding research that we believe will be life changing for all the ‘Hugos’ of the world. We fully support JDRF’s ambition to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and one day to eradicate the condition for good.”

The Steve Morgan Foundation donation will help fund a research programme that includes artificial pancreas technology, ‘smart’ insulin and immunotherapy.

It will also enable the charity to accelerate vital clinical trials and ensures research can be boosted in an attempt to cure type 1 diabetes, and to enhance current technologies, making them available on the NHS.

Type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition, affects around 400,000 people in the UK, of whom 29,000 are children like Hugo. There is currently no cure, and the condition has a life-long impact on those diagnosed, as well as their families, given the complex monitoring and management it requires.

Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF in the UK, says:

“This £3 million donation from the Steve Morgan Foundation is an incredible sum of money and a transformational contribution towards our work to eradicate type 1 diabetes,” she added. “We will find the cure – it’s just a question of time, great researchers and generous donors.

“Everyone at JDRF is extremely grateful to Steve and Sally for their interest in, and support of our work, and we look forward to a long, productive and collaborative relationship with the Foundation.”

For more information about JDRF visit www.jdrf.org.uk