In recent years so much has been done to lengthen life. So many new therapies have been introduced to keep us alive. But what about the quality of that life. We think everyone deserves to enjoy the wonderful things sight has to offer – beautiful views, faces of loves ones, reading, shopping, your reflection in the mirror.
We are told that sight is the sense people would least like to lose. People would rather lose a limb.
It comes as a constant shock that only 1% of funding from the top 20 sight loss charities goes on scientific research. Because there are so few treatments available there is a constant and growing need for care and support and charities must fill the gap. Fight for Sight is aiming to redress the balance. We are the main UK charitable funder of eye research. We fund research into the causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and ultimately reversal of sight loss. The UK is world leading in eye research with so many new therapies in the final stages of clinical trials. Without our seed funding this pipeline wouldn’t be fed. We have worked with people with first-hand experience of sight loss, people like Irenie (@reenwilson), to make sure we prioritise our funding by what people really want.
Fight for Sight is currently funding nearly £9m of research across 35 institutions in the UK. But it is never enough. We fund for people like Irenie and the 100 people a day in the UK who start to lose their sight. Help us to create a future where everyone can see www.fightforsight.org.uk #whywedoresearch
Research into sight loss is cutting edge: from apps to photograph the back of the eye and help diagnosis to chips implanted in the eye; from video games to 3-d printing of retinal cells; from replacing faulty genes to patching damage with stem cells. Eye research is exciting and we are proud to be pioneering the way.
#WhyWeDoResearch "How else would we find cures? Let's get quality of life back"
@BewickCarol
@FightForSightUK