A recent YouGov Omnibus survey reveals that over a fifth of people think that people with diabetes cannot join the organ donation register.
The YouGov survey of 2,334 adults revealed that 22% of British people incorrectly thought people with diabetes could not join the register. In reality having a medical condition, such as diabetes, does not prevent a person from becoming an organ or tissue donor.
There are still lots of misconceptions about how having diabetes restricts people from doing things. More than one in 10 people (13%) thought people with diabetes were not allowed to become a firefighter, while almost a third of people (29%) thought people with the condition could not eat sweets.
In fact, people with diabetes can include treats such as sweets and chocolates in their diet, but like everyone else, they should ensure their overall diet is well balanced and healthy by eating less fat, sugar and salt and eating plenty of fruit and vegetables. Some people with diabetes use sweets to raise their blood glucose levels if they fall too low.
The survey also contained some encouraging news, showing that nearly half of people (46%) did not think there was anything that people with diabetes would not be able to do.
