Donation Medtronic Insulin Pump and Glucose Sensor

Dear Stephen Jones

Thank you for your kind offer of a donation to provide medical equipment for children receiving medical care at RNSH.

We provide a diabetes service for infants, children and adolescents who reside in Northern Sydney and the Central Coast. Most of these children have Type 1 Diabetes, a chronic illness treated with multiple daily injections, multiple daily blood glucose testing and healthy diet.

Type 1 Diabetes can be life threatening if not well controlled. Acute serious complications include hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis. Long term complications such as kidney damage, nerve damage and blindness are also much more likely if their diabetes is not well controlled.

The use of insulin infusion pumps has been shown to greatly improve the blood glucose control of children with Type 1 Diabetes and has lead to significant improvements in their quality of life. The children often comment that they �have their life back�.

Currently, insulin pumps are only an option for those who can afford them or who have private health cover. This creates inequity in health care delivery in that those who could benefit most from a pump are not able to afford it.

Our service would like to purchase a Medtronic pump and glucose sensor. The Medtronic pump is valued at $7950 and sensor $1850. This pump is the newest pump on the market and has the additional feature of being linked to a continuous glucose sensor which monitors blood glucose levels continuously.

We would use this pump as a �donor pump�, that is for short term use in patients as a trial or whilst they are waiting to acquire private health care cover. One of our donor pumps is currently used in a neonate with a rare form of diabetes. This infant is one of the youngest and smallest patients on a pump in Australia.

Thanks again. Yours sincerely,

Dr Monique Stone
Paediatric Endocrinologist

Dr Michelle Jack
Director, Paediatric Endocrine and Diabetes Service
ROYAL NORTH SHORE HOSPITAL
22 February 2007