Celebrating Jenny Hirst MBE: A champion for people with diabetes

Jenny’s path was not without obstacles. As a young woman in training 60 years ago, she faced blatant discrimination. “When I was a student, I went for a job interview, and the optician told me he wasn’t going to hire me. When I asked why, he said he had never seen a female optician before and just wanted to see what it would look like,” Jenny recalls.

Despite such challenges, she persisted, eventually becoming a manager early in her career. She and her husband, also an optician, went on to establish and run three successful optometry practices in Northampton. Jenny’s resilience in a male-dominated profession became a defining characteristic, one she carried into her advocacy work when her daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five.

Being self-employed allowed Jenny to be there for her daughter during the most critical moments.

She said: “My daughter was the youngest child in Northampton diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Running my own business meant I could drop everything if something went wrong at school.

“For me, my role was to bring my child up as an independent woman, and that’s even more important for children with chronic conditions.”

Jenny’s drive led her to co-found IDDT in 1994, determined to fight for patient choice.

She became a key figure in a decade-long battle to ensure continued access to animal insulin, pushing back against pharmaceutical industry pressure to switch patients to genetically engineered insulin. Her relentless advocacy led to government intervention, securing choice for thousands of people with diabetes.

Her dedication was recognised when she was awarded an MBE for her services to charity and public health. Upon receiving the honour, Jenny expressed: “Words can hardly describe how honoured I am to be recognised in this way. I never thought that an ordinary person like me, who has just been helping people with diabetes, would be recognised like this.”

Since its founding, IDDT has grown into an international organisation with over 25,000 members. The charity provides crucial information and resources to people with diabetes worldwide, including delivering essential insulin to adults and children in developing countries who otherwise would not have access to it.

Reflecting on her journey, Jenny says: “The challenges I faced as a woman in optometry shaped me. In fact, it began from an early age. My parents weren’t well off, but they believed in education. Paying my school fees made them quite hard up, and that made me realise the differences in society. This fuelled my determination to work hard and create my own path.

“My experiences in education and my career taught me resilience, and I took that same energy into my fight for people with diabetes. Advocacy, whether in healthcare or the workplace, requires persistence. We have to make sure voices are heard and choices are protected.”

Jenny’s legacy is a testament to the power of determination. Her work has not only improved lives but has also ensured that people with diabetes have the right to make informed decisions about their care.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, IDDT acknowledges the lasting impact of this extraordinary woman and her unwavering fight for diabetes care and patient rights.

For more information about IDDT and Jenny Hirst’s work, please visit www.iddt.org.