Couple complete China challenge for Fight for Sight

Fight for Sight supporters, Katie D’Arcy and Steve Witt, trekked along the Great Wall of China to raise funds for research into Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare eye condition which affects Katie’s cousin, nineteen month old Jackson. The £5,235 raised by the couple will fund groundbreaking research into LCA being carried out at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.

LCA is a rare inherited eye condition that can lead to blindness. There is currently no cure for the condition. However, researchers at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, led by Professor Tony Moore and funded by Fight for Sight, are investigating the possibility of using gene therapy to treat patients affected by LCA.

Fight for Sight is the UK's leading charity dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease. The current research programme of over £5 million is focussing on a range of serious eye conditions including glaucoma, cataract and the causes of childhood blindness.

Fight for Sight’s Director of Fundraising, Annu Mayor, said: “Every year supporters like Katie and Steve take on incredible challenges to raise money for Fight for Sight. We are so grateful for their support and for the determination they show both in their training and their fundraising. We rely on support from individuals to fund our research and without them much of our work wouldn’t be possible.”

Katie and Steve were delighted by the support they received: “This experience is something that neither of us will ever forget.  From the camaraderie of the other participants, to the breathtaking views and scenery, to the actual physical and mental challenge that trekking the wall entailed, it has been such a privilege to be able to do this to raise awareness of Jackson’s condition. We are so appreciative of the generosity of everyone who contributed to the incredible total sponsorship we raised, especially in this current financial climate, and would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported us.”

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For more information call Louise Elliott at
Fight for Sight on 020 7929 7755
or visit our website: www.fightforsight.org.uk

Note for Editors:
Fight for Sight is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease.

Since 1965, the charity has funded millions of pounds worth of research at leading universities and hospitals throughout the UK. Our major achievements in this time include:
• saving the sight of thousands of  premature babies through understanding and controlling levels of oxygen delivery;
• restoring sight by establishing the UK Corneal Transplant Service enabling over 45,000 corneal transplants to take place;
• revolutionising the treatment for children with amblyopia (lazy eye);
• bringing hope to children with inherited eye disease by helping fund the team responsible for the world’s first gene therapy clinical trial; and
• providing £1million for the research unit at the dedicated children’s eye centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Fight for Sight’s current research programme of over £5 million focuses on preventing and treating age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataract as well as causes of childhood blindness.

Find out more about Fight for Sight's overseas challenges.