Festive campaign to boost funding for macular disease

The Macular Society has teamed up with Vision Express for a festive campaign, in a bid to boost funding for macular disease. 

The initiative, supported by inspirational Para-athlete Zac Shaw, will see the national optical retailer donate £1 from every eye test throughout December. 

New research shows macular disease is more prevalent than dementia. It is set to be the next public health crisis, as the number of people with macular disease is set to double in the next 20 years. 

The Society has found that, in an escalation of previous estimates, nearly 1.5m people in the UK are affected by macular disease. Around 300 people face a shock diagnosis every single day. And, although it is the nation’s biggest cause of sight loss across all age groups, without any cure and only limited treatment options, public funding remains woefully inadequate.

The Society has mapped out a plan to stop the disease in its tracks – by increasing its funding of macular research tenfold by 2023 to £6million per year.

Cathy Yelf, chief executive of the Macular Society, said: “Our new strategy sets out what needs to be done to avert an epidemic of blindness in the UK, and increased funding is absolutely critical.

“It is more prevalent than dementia and represents a huge cost, care and societal burden, yet inexplicably, does not receive a level of research funding proportionate to its impact. Just 0.2 per cent of UK public medical research money is spent on macular disease. That is nowhere near enough to make real advancements into treatment or a possible cure.

“As a charity, we can’t do it alone, we rely on the support of our partners and donors to make this happen, so the commitment from Vision Express is a valuable step towards meeting our target.”

Vision Express will be donating £1 from every eye test in December to the Society, in order to bolster the research pot.

Supporting the optician is Para-athlete Zac Shaw, who was diagnosed with Stargardt disease following an eye test at Vision Express, aged just nine. He has since lost 90 per cent of his vision, but the inspirational 23 year old has achieved the title of the UK’s number one visually impaired sprinter. He is hoping to go for gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

He said: “Having Stargardt disease affects your confidence, not just in sport, but in day to day life too. It can be hard doing something simple like getting on a train or a bus or going to the supermarket. I want to inspire those living with macular disease, like me, to go out there and achieve their dreams. This campaign is so important because the ultimate aim has to be to stop this cruel condition.”

Macular disease is a progressive condition that steals the central vision of those affected, leaving many unable to drive, read, watch TV or recognise the faces of their closest friends and family. It is linked to falls, social isolation, depression and suicide.

Jay Ghadiali, director of professional services at Vision Express, added: “We’ve been a proud partner of the Macular Society since 2014, and we’re pleased to be joining forces in December to raise both funds and awareness, to enable the charity to get closer to meeting that £6million funding figure. This is unprecedented - Vision Express has never introduced a donation-per-test scheme, which shows just how seriously we take this issue, and we have committed to giving to the Macular Society £1 from every single eye test we complete across our network of almost 600 stores nationwide in December.”

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