0:00:12 > 0:00:15I've always had an eye for beauty.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19When you look through a lens you see things rather more clearly.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21It's a wonderful feeling.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24You do feel part of what you are seeing.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29As a photographer, light is vital in my life.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34But Belinda Wilkinson is going blind.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38It's a terrifying prospect I know about.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43My mother spent her last precious years completely blind and in fear.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I witnessed her confidence and independence slipping away from her.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And now I feel the same dread she must have felt, having
0:00:49 > 0:00:54had two emergency operations to prevent my own sight deteriorating.
0:00:54 > 0:00:581.8 million people in this country suffer from failing sight,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00and that's a huge number.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02But over the next few minutes, I'm going
0:01:02 > 0:01:06to show what you can do to help to turn the tide.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Like my mother, Belinda is losing her sight due to a condition
0:01:10 > 0:01:14called age-related macular degeneration, or AMD,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17the leading cause of sight loss for the over-60s.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21For years Belinda was a portrait photographer,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25but the symptoms of AMD made it impossible to continue.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Of course, the expression of the person you are photographing
0:01:28 > 0:01:31is vital to a good photograph.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36With AMD, one of the really bad bits is the fact that you don't
0:01:36 > 0:01:38see faces very clearly.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39It's pretty unpleasant,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42because all your central vision will eventually go.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47One of the versions of the disease Belinda has is called dry AMD,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49for which there is no cure.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53I notice a deterioration, which is quite rapid, which is fairly
0:01:53 > 0:01:57frightening, because it is robbing me of my independence, which is
0:01:57 > 0:02:02very important in my life. So I try not to think about the future.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07You know, I'm a realist and I do know it's a one-way ticket.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13AMD is just one of many conditions that can lead to sight loss.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16But I hope that in the future,
0:02:16 > 0:02:21people like Belinda or my mum won't have to worry about going blind.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22But that'll only happen
0:02:22 > 0:02:26if we can understand the root causes of this all-too-common affliction.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Thankfully, there is a charity
0:02:30 > 0:02:32that's turning this hope into a reality.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Fight for Sight is funding research in laboratories like
0:02:35 > 0:02:39this one at UCL in London, where scientists are dedicated to finding
0:02:39 > 0:02:43new and more effective treatments for the causes of sight loss.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44Professor Steve Moss
0:02:44 > 0:02:48is one of the world's leading researchers into AMD.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49He's spent his career
0:02:49 > 0:02:52trying to understand the causes of the disease.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56This is a really exciting time to be doing research in this area
0:02:56 > 0:02:59because we now really have the prospect of understanding
0:02:59 > 0:03:01what's happening at the cellular level.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04What we're trying to prevent is the attack
0:03:04 > 0:03:08from our own proteins in our own system
0:03:08 > 0:03:11that's taking place in the retina on the cells at the back of the eye.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Now they know the cause of AMD,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16it's vital that research can move to the next stage,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20to discover the drugs that could cure someone like Belinda.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24But research costs an awful lot of money.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Over the years here at UCL, we have received
0:03:27 > 0:03:29millions of pounds of funding from Fight for Sight.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32And without Fight for Sight's input, research into AMD
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and other forms of eye disease would suffer enormously in the UK.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Fight for Sight is the main UK charity dedicated to
0:03:41 > 0:03:45raising funds for pioneering medical sight-loss research.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And with around 100 people across the UK starting to lose
0:03:48 > 0:03:52their sight every day, there's never been a better time for you to help.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Eye disease and sight loss can affect any of us
0:03:55 > 0:03:57at any stage of life.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01One person who knows this better than most is 14-year-old Tommy.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05He has a hereditary eye disease called choroideremia,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08which leads inevitably to complete blindness,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12and for which currently there is no cure.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14For Tommy's mum Emma,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19blindness is a shadow that has hung over the family for generations.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21My grandad was blind -
0:04:21 > 0:04:23he had choroideremia.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25There was parts of being a grandad
0:04:25 > 0:04:27when you can't see your grandchildren or be able to
0:04:27 > 0:04:31play with them in the park. You know, it was quite sad.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33When he was four, Tommy was diagnosed.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39I felt a real sense of grief for Tommy,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42that his life would be different.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Knowing my grandad, I didn't want that life for Tommy.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51We didn't really know what to do or... Sorry...
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Um...you know...
0:04:53 > 0:04:57We were just sort of lost for a bit.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Choroideremia only affects boys.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Tommy has begun to lose his peripheral vision
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and over time, the disease will close in on the central
0:05:06 > 0:05:09area of his retina, eventually destroying it.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14My eyesight will kind of degenerate and kind of get worse
0:05:14 > 0:05:17as I get older and eventually I'll go blind.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20It became quite apparent that at the moment
0:05:20 > 0:05:25there was nothing that could be done, there was no treatment.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28That was really, you know, really tough for us.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32But Tommy and his family weren't about to give up.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Emma got in touch with Fight for Sight, who inspired them
0:05:35 > 0:05:39to raise a massive amount of money to fund a research project
0:05:39 > 0:05:42to find a cure for choroideremia.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Medical research is the only thing that will change Tommy's life
0:05:46 > 0:05:51and give him the life that we all want him to have.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55The money Emma raised for Fight for Sight helped take the research
0:05:55 > 0:05:58out of the lab and on to patients,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01in a clinical trial being run by Professor Robert MacLaren.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04We know in choroideremia that there is a vital gene that is part of
0:06:04 > 0:06:08the DNA which is missing and we have been able to harness the power of
0:06:08 > 0:06:13the virus to infect cells to put the missing gene back into the cells.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Now, the results in the lab have been very promising and very exciting
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and that's enabled us now to move us on to a clinical trial.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22The first stage of the trial on patients
0:06:22 > 0:06:25is producing startling results.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27And if the next stage is successful too,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31then doctors will be able to offer a cure to Tommy in a few years,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35saving him and many other children from going blind.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38And the gene therapy technique the team have perfected
0:06:38 > 0:06:42could revolutionise the treatment of other diseases, too.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44This is a very exciting time indeed -
0:06:44 > 0:06:47there are many other genetic diseases that could be treated
0:06:47 > 0:06:50through very similar clinical trials, and I think the only limiting factor
0:06:50 > 0:06:51at the moment is the amount
0:06:51 > 0:06:53of funding we can raise to get them started.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Each vital stage of research costs a lot of money.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00But for families living with inherited sight-loss conditions,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03medical breakthroughs offer the only real hope.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And that's why I'm appealing for your help,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08on behalf of Fight for Sight.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13You can help people when they have a problem, but it doesn't cure them.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Research is the only way forward.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21'Fight for Sight are just an amazing charity and without them
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'medical research would not be where it is today.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29'Tommy's prospects now for the future are looking much, much brighter.'
0:07:29 > 0:07:32For it actually to come to the day when Tommy's having it done,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36it will be the best day ever. I just can't wait.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Fight for Sight is currently funding over 100 cutting-edge
0:07:40 > 0:07:43research projects for age-related and hereditary eye conditions
0:07:43 > 0:07:47that could save the vision of people like Tommy and Belinda.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49And you can help make sure that they succeed.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52So please dig deep and donate now.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Please go to the website...
0:07:59 > 0:08:01If you haven't got internet access,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03please call...
0:08:06 > 0:08:07If you can't get through
0:08:07 > 0:08:09the first time, please keep trying.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Telephone calls are free
0:08:11 > 0:08:12from most landlines.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Some networks and mobile operators
0:08:15 > 0:08:16will charge for these calls.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Texts cost £10 plus your standard
0:08:24 > 0:08:25network message charge,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27and the whole £10
0:08:27 > 0:08:28goes to Fight for Sight.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Full terms and conditions
0:08:30 > 0:08:34can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38please make your cheque payable
0:08:38 > 0:08:40to Fight for Sight and send it to
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Freepost BBC Lifeline Appeal,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44writing "Fight for Sight"
0:08:44 > 0:08:45on the back of the envelope.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And if you want the charity
0:08:47 > 0:08:49to claim Gift Aid on your donation,
0:08:49 > 0:08:50please include an e-mail
0:08:50 > 0:08:52or postal address so that they can
0:08:52 > 0:08:54send you a Gift Aid form.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Thank you.