Jazz Sethi, the 26-year-old experimental dancer from Ahmedabad, is the first user of the Do-It-Yourself Artificial Pancreas (DIYAP) in India. She has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 13. She is also the founder of Diabesties, a non-profit organization dedicated to Type 1 Diabetes education, awareness and advocating for access to affordable health care. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that requires lifelong therapy. DIYAP is the result of a movement called, #WeAreNotWaiting, initiated by the frustrated Type 1 diabetes community to manage their miserable condition. The DIYAP consists of existing or old insulin pumps, continuous glucose sensors (CGM) connected to open-source algorithms created by the T1D community itself.

Jazz Sethi describes her experience with this system in a recent article published in the ‘Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews’ journal. In her narrative, she describes her struggles and challenges in managing her glucose levels and how the DIYAP has proved to be 'life-changing'. The system has brought tremendous improvement in her time-in-range, hypoglycemia awareness, and general quality of life. She got introduced to this system through Dr.Jothydev Kesavadev (Jothydev's Diabetes and Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram), Dr.Banshi Saboo (Diacare, Ahmedabad) and Dr.Partha Kar (NHS England, UK), who have co-authored the article 'DIY Artificial Pancreas: A Narrative of the First Patient and the Physicians' Experiences from India'. Worldwide a large number of patients are opting for these systems. A point to be noted is that these are not regulated by the authorities and not validated by clinical trials. But these systems have enabled the users to achieve better glycemic outcomes and quality of life.