Goodbye for now ...

It is with both joy and sadness that I have made the decision to close Diabetes Portal for now. Diabetes Portal and its dedicated team of volunteers and staff have helped thousands of people during the past ten years. Since its inception as the Insulin-Free World Foundation in 1995 and subsequent incorporation as DiabetesPortal.com, it has been a driving force in bridging communication between researchers, clinicians, and those of us living with diabetes. With more than 3.5 million hits and 350,000 impressions per month, the Diabetes Portal family of websites has offered information, peer-support, referrals and counsel to diabetic people of all ages around the world.

This was all possible because of a pancreas transplant in 1993 that freed me from the complications and day-to-day issues of diabetes. I learned of pancreas transplantation by sheer chance. After my recovery I was determined that I would help others living with diabetes to get information about treatment options, to derive hope from advances in cure-focused treatments and research, and to advocate for more funding to cure diabetes.

I have made many good friends through Diabetes Portal … from people who share my experiences with diabetes, to parents of children with diabetes, to transplant surgeons, and brilliant scientists devoted to curing this disease. I will continue to be dedicated to the cause of curing diabetes and to helping as I can, yet my husband and I have just completed the adoption of our second daughter and I have found such great happiness in motherhood that I am choosing to devote myself to my family for the next few years.

Deb Butterfield
Founder, DiabetesPortal.com