Anyone who lives with Type 1 will understand the importance of storing insulin at the correct temperature. For the benefit of anyone who doesn’t know, insulin that is currently in use (the cartridge in the pen) can be at room temperature for 30 days and any spare insulin must be kept chilled. Insulin that gets too hot or below freezing point becomes damaged and is not safe to use. In the UK, this is not usually a problem, everybody has access to a fridge to store spares and the temperature rarely gets very hot for too long.
In India however, it is not unusual for the temperature to be above 45c on a regular basis during the summer. After receiving Pendsey Trust support, many children are finding that their insulin goes off in the heat, this is a serious problem to their helath because it then does not work and they are back to square one. Thankfully, the Pendsey Trust fridge project enabled many families to have a fridge for safe storage of insulin, but many of the children supported by Pendsey live in  inadequate accommodation, sometimes not much more than a man made tent and many villages do not have electricity and running water, so having a fridge to safely store insulin is not possible. The fridge project could not reach the most needy children who really needed help.
Thankfully, FRIO pouches are designed to keep insulin cool whilst on the go. Using patented technology, these pouches only require a small amount of water and the insulin will be kept chilled for several days. Studies have shown that insulin keeps cool in a FRIO pouch for 48 hours, whilst laid out in direct sunlight. For children in India, these pouches are life saving as no electricity is needed so even the most needy young diabetic patients can use them. A Frio pouch will last for many years and is another excellent example of a sustainable initiative The Pendsey trust fund.
The Pendsey Trust have set a target to purchase 200 Frio pouches by 11 November, they cost £11.11 each. Would you be able to donate a pouch in order to help a child who’s health is in danger because of the heat? The link is below: