Name of the charity: Fighting Blindness

About Fighting Blindness (I)

 The loss of sight is unimaginable to most people but over 100,000 adults and children in Ireland and an estimated 40 million worldwide face this prospect today. Fighting Blindness is leading the way to change this future.

Background

 Fighting Blindness is working to find cures for diseases affecting the back of the eye, the retina, that lead to loss of sight over time. Back in 1983 Irish families affected by various retinal degenerative conditions grouped together to form Fighting Blindness. What began as a support group with no idea of a solution evolved into a patient led charity funding world-leading research looking for an ultimate cure.

Over the past three decades, Irish research funded by Fighting Blindness has resulted in many amazing developments: from discovering genes responsible for Retinitis Pigmentosa – a rare genetic condition causing severe tunnel vision to breakthroughs in drug delivery and investigating how lifestyle choices can help preserve eye health. In the last four years alone Fighting Blindness has invested €3 million in research.

We also provide up to the minute information to all stakeholders on the development of research and potential treatments and cures, coordinate educational outreach programmes for patients, medical professionals scientists and policy makers and we have since 2002 provided a unique professional counselling service for individuals and families affected by blindness.

Current Projects (II)
 

Research

Fighting Blindness research teams are investigating treatments and cures for blindness caused by inherited and age-related conditions. We currently fund 12 projects in six centres around Ireland and one in the UK that include work on genes and gene therapies, adult stem cell technologies, retina implant technologies, novel drug therapies, population studies and developing human clinical trials. 
Genable Technologies Ltd., a campus company formed by Fighting Blindness researchers at Trinity College Dublin and funded by the charity recently gained approval from the European Medicines’ Agency for a suppression replacement gene therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a rare genetic condition causing severe tunnel vision. This is a major step in developing a therapy for RP.

Counselling

While we pursue cures Fighting Blindness provides support to the newly diagnosed and those who have lived with degenerative blindness all their lives through the Insight Counselling Centre. Based in Dublin, Insight also runs national support groups across the country helping hundreds of people each year cope with the challenges of sight loss. 

Impact of a Donation (III)

Donation of €2,000

 A generous donation of €2,000 could achieve a lot for those affected by blindness including, but not limited to the following:

1.Isolation and difficulties getting around are key challenges faced by people who are losing their vision. Currently most of our services are based in Dublin but we urgently need to reach people country-wide and provide a more accessible service for them. Counselling sessions cost €80 per session and a donation of €2,000 would help to develop a service for people in the West of Ireland. 

2.A donation of this kind would allow Fighting Blindness to develop materials to raise awareness about eye conditions like Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and steps that people can take today to help reduce sight loss. These materials would be made available at important locations like hospitals, clinics, opticians etc.

Donation of €5,000

Financial support at the level of €5,000 could achieve a lot in helping to develop research here in Ireland. Researchers require expensive equipment to continue their work in bringing about a cure as soon as possible and every cent raised will help towards this goal. 

Why Fighting Blindness? (IV)

 Each year Fighting Blindness must raise over €3 million to fund our research projects and counselling service. Over 90% of our funding comes from generous supporters like you. Every minute counts when sight is degenerating, so every cent raised will help us find a cure faster. 
We at Fighting Blindness strongly believe that treatments and cures for blindness are imminent and these developments will not only impact on the quality of life for over 100,000 Irish people who are losing their sight, but will contribute to the greater economy and society as a whole.
We cannot do it alone and it is only through the support of you, our friends, that we will be able to reach the goal we set for ourselves 30 years ago – to find a cure for blindness.

Registered Charity Number (V)

 Fighting Blindness registered charity number is CHY6784