Sight Research UK
Beating eye disease by turning science into sight.
Every six minutes, someone in the UK is told they’re going blind. That’s 250 people a day. Sight Research UK (SRUK) funds world class research poised to provide new and more effective solutions for patients - be it in diagnosis, prevention or treatment. Your gift will help beat sight loss faster.
It ran from 12:00 PM, 30 November 2021 to 12:00 PM, 7 December 2021
Registered Charity in England and Wales (1156134)
Match funded Campaign target
£22,000
Amount raised
£21,476
Donations
103
Championed by The Hospital Saturday Fund
Location
United Kingdom
Campaign overview
Aims
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
Situation
There are 2.5 million people living with sight loss in the UK today. Without further investment in sight-saving research, another 1.5 million are predicted to lose their sight by 2050. But research into sight-threatening conditions is in crisis, receiving just 1.5% of public medical research funding (that’s a mere £9.60 a year for every person with sight loss). We must do all we can so that new and better sight-saving solutions can be found faster.
Solution
SRUK has a track record of funding research that makes a difference. To date, our funding has contributed to important improvements such as making corneal transplants more efficient (and more readily available), a revolutionary new treatment for uveitis patients, a promising gene therapy for glaucoma, and drops for diabetic retinopathy (to replace monthly injections in the eye) which are currently in clinical trials. With your help, we can do even more.
Research gives me hope. The need to find a COVID vaccine has shown what can be done if there is a collective will. With eye problems, the need is undoubtedly there, but the will is not. We have the best scientists but the amount of money devoted to eye research is still very poor.
— Sheila
After hours of testing, eyedrops, scans and photographs of my eye, I was told by the hospital staff that, if I had not gone to the hospital that day, I would have completely lost my vision in that eye. It was terrifying to be told this as a 15-year-old, looking forward to life ahead.
— Abbie
The corneal transplants have enabled Graham and me to do so many amazing things together, which would not have been possible without them. Thanks to research progress, we have never been held back. We are so grateful, but more research is needed to help others with other eye conditions.
— Annie & Graham