Today, Nov. 14, is World Diabetes Day, which marks the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting. Banting discovered the insulin hormone along with Charles Herbert Best in 1922. It also lands during the American Diabetes Association’s National Diabetes Awareness Month.
(We compiled lists in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, highlighting some of the industry-wide initiatives for these occasions.)
Direct Relief is the leading humanitarian aid organization and largest charitable insulin provider in the U.S., Embecta said in a news release. The two began working together following Embecta’s 2022 spin-off from BD, as BD-branded pen needles and insulin syringes became part of the Embecta portfolio.
In 2025, the company updated the packaging in North America. This created an opportunity to donate injection devices that carried the previous branding to those most in need.
Following the transition, Embecta says its donations reached approximately 15 million units of needles and syringes to Direct Relief. Through 2026, they now plan to continue their partnership to provide these crucial devices to those in need.
“As we mark World Diabetes Day, Embecta is proud to deepen our commitment to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes — regardless of their ability to pay or where they live — has access to the supplies they need,” said Dev Kurdikar, CEO, Embecta. “Since becoming an independent company, we have focused on empowering people with diabetes while paving the way for a life unlimited for all. This partnership with Direct Relief helps extend that mission to those who need it most.”
More on the significance of the partnership between Embecta and Direct Relief
Embecta said its donation significantly expands Direct Relief’s ability to serve uninsured and low-income patients. Direct Relief partners with more than 1,600 community health centers and free and charitable clinics across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. It serves more than 36 million patients, including one in five of America’s uninsured.
Through the program, Embecta can get its diabetes products to those who can’t afford insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid.
Embecta also supports Direct Relief’s partnership with Life for a Child, delivering care to children and young people with type 1 diabetes in resource-limited countries. It says that, through the program, it donated pen needles and syringes in more than 30 countries.
Most recently, the company donated 2.7 million insulin needles and syringes for a campaign in Sudan. It also provided a $25,000 grant to Direct Relief for Texas storm and flood relief in July.
Embecta’s commitment also reaches Direct Relief’s support of the Diabetes Education & Camping Association’s (DECA) network and diabetes camps nationwide.
“Direct Relief welcomes Embecta’s extraordinary commitment to expanding diabetes care access,” said Amy Weaver, CEO, Direct Relief. “We are one of the largest charitable insulin providers worldwide and in the U.S., and Embecta’s support will help us impact thousands of lives—from children with Type 1 diabetes through our support of the international Life for a Child program to increasing access for underserved patients at safety net clinics nationwide.”
