News Release

Take the big blue test and change the world of a person with diabetes

Grant money from the test will help pharmacy students from the University of Colorado provide free lab tests and supplies

Grant and Award Announcement

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

AURORA, Colo (Nov. 7, 2011) People living with diabetes can help change the lives of others with diabetes in need as they do something in unison – exercise. Every time someone participates in the Big Blue Test and shares the experience on BigBlueTest.org, a donation of life-saving supplies will be made on their behalf to someone with diabetes in need.

The University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences received $10,000 in Big Blue Test grant money in 2011. The money supports 12 free community diabetes education clinics located across the state of Colorado, supported and run by 4th year pharmacy students from the school. This grant money will provide lab testing for approximately 70 people with diabetes in these clinics. The lab tests are provided free to these participants and would normally not be paid by insurance. Each would cost patients around $70 every time they had the lab tests run. The tests are run when the people start at the clinic and again after they have received care for six months.

"The Big Blue Test grant will enable our students and preceptors who are operating free diabetes programs in rural and underserved areas of Colorado to continue to provide free lab tests, supplies and diabetes education to some of the poorest residents in our state struggling with diabetes," said Wesley Nuffer, Director of University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences' diabetes programs. "I applaud every person who joins in the Big Blue Test. You are helping to save lives."

The Big Blue Test, a diabetes awareness program started by the nonprofit Diabetes Hands Foundation, takes place every November leading up to World Diabetes Day on November 14. The campaign reinforces the importance of exercise in managing diabetes. People with diabetes are encouraged to do the test any day between November 1 and November 14 at midnight Pacific Time, by testing their blood sugar, getting active, testing again, and sharing the results online at bigbluetest.org.

The website aggregates all of the data collected live. In the last two years, just 14 minutes of exercise decreased participants' blood sugar level between 15 and 20 percent.

In 2010, more than 2,000 people did the Big Blue Test and over 120,000 people watched the video. Roche Diabetes Care, makers of ACCU-CHEK® diabetes products and services, funded the production of the video and helped it go viral by donating 75 cents for each of the first 100,000 views, resulting in total donations of $75,000. The donation provided insulin and supplies to more than 2,000 people with diabetes in developing countries.

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This year, in connection with the number of people that do the Big Blue Test, another donation from Roche Diabetes Care will benefit more than 8,000 people with diabetes in need.

About World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is celebrated on November 14, a date chosen to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, one of the pioneers in diabetes research. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day. World Diabetes Day is represented by the blue circle logo—the global symbol of diabetes.

The University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is celebrating 100 years of education, patient care and scientific discovery, the school ranks second of 120 U.S. pharmacy schools having PharmDs with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); third among U.S. pharmacy schools in NIH awards per PhD faculty and number 14 among U.S. pharmacy schools in total NIH research funding. The school is also the second largest school of pharmacy in the nation to provide online pharmacy education for working pharmacists.


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