The Society was founded in 1987 and is now the largest patient group in the country for the visually impaired, with approximately 16,000 members. The office is situated in Andover, Hampshire. Macular disease or macular degeneration is a condition which destroys central vision preventing people from seeing detail, reading, driving, recognising faces and seeing the food on their plate. It does not cause total blindness as some peripheral vision is retained. The condition is the largest cause of registration for vision impairment in the over 50s. There are a number of macular dystrophies with the same symptoms which effect young people from teenage years onwards.

The purposes of the Society are as follows:

• To provide information, help, support and practical advice to people with macular disease, health professionals and the general public
• To improve the quality of life of people with macular disease by helping them to become more independent
• To support, sponsor and monitor research into the causes of and treatments for macular disease
• To promote improved low vision and rehabilitation services
• To educate and inform the public and health professionals about the phychological aspects of macular disease

Your membership subscription helps the Macular Disease Society to provide the following services:

• A telephone information helpline and counselling support service
• Support a national network of local groups which provide mutual support, information about macular disease and get involved in campaigning and fundraising activities
• Publish Side View, a quarterly magazine for members of the Society and Digest, an annual journal which reports on developments in scientific research into macular disease
• Organise national and regional conferences annually
• Publish a wide range of information leaflets and fact sheets
• Operate a web site and online enquiries service
• Sponsor research projects with the aim of finding the causes of macular disease, developing new treatments and improving the quality of life of those affected
• Represent our members interest in relation to the provision of treatment and services for the visually impaired and new legislation
• Work with other charitable organisations, professional bodies and the pharmaceutical industry to represent the macular disease community.