The difference you’ll make

“There’s real hope that a treatment can get into clinics within our children’s lifetimes. Without Macular Society funding, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

Dr Amanda Carr, University College London

A gift in your Will would fund world-class research to find a cure for macular disease. In the past 30 years, we’ve funded over £6 million of research: from researchers at the top of their game to postgraduates – the leading scientists of the future. We couldn’t have done that without gifts in Wills from people like you. In fact, more than one in three of our research projects is funded by gifts in Wills.

Your gift can bring a cure closer

Dr Arjuna Ratnayaka at the University of Southampton conducts vital research into how and why macular disease begins. Gifts in Wills enabled the Macular Society to fund a PhD student for one of his current projects.

“Rebecca Miller, our PhD student, is looking at why and how a layer of cells called the retinal pigment epithelium, which looks after the light detecting cells in the eye, can start to die in people with age-related macular degeneration. If we can explain why and how this happens, it will be of immense help to patients.

We're at a very exciting stage in that we're able to bring in new technology such as AI to study our ideas. So we have the tools and, thanks to the Macular Society, the funding and an extremely talented PhD student to work on the project.

We need to retain young scientists of Rebecca’s calibre in the field of vision research. PhD students are integral to the future. They will discover solutions to problems around sight loss that people in our generation and those before us have not yet managed to do.

This type of research is critical, but all research is expensive. The support that you give, particularly through legacies, is of huge benefit to scientists and to the Macular Society, enabling the charity to make strategic investments that will move forward new research ideas and directly benefit patients.”

- Dr Arjuna Ratnayaka, University of Southampton

You can read more about the project or watch the short video below.

Your gift can bring hope when it’s needed most

“My mother had AMD. My sister has it too - and my cousin. It’s been in my family for generations. My gift is a thank you for the support Mum got and also for research. I’m optimistic that progress is being made”

Doreen, Macular Society member

More than half the people who contact us for advice and support owe their thanks to someone - like Doreen - remembering the Society in their Will.

Whether struggling with a new diagnosis, bewildered by their treatment, or wanting to know how to carry on doing the things they love, we are here to offer expert advice and support. We refer some callers to our professional counsellors, others to our local support groups. We provide reliable, up-to-the-minute information. And we’re there for younger people with macular disease, juggling study, work, family and benefits. Macular disease affects everyone differently. But a gift in your Will can ensure we’re there to help everyone find their way, long into the future.