Participate in research

Find out if you can help research into macular disease and its impact.

Image of a lady with sunglasses and her dog on her lap.

Getting involved in macular disease research

Volunteer members of the macular disease community play a crucial role in macular disease research.

Clinical trials for drugs or devices are critical in ensuring new treatments are safe and effective. There are strict rules around clinical trials and they must receive ethics approval. Most people who volunteer have an eye disease or are likely to develop one.

Other studies focus on the social or economic impacts of macular disease. These research studies may take the form of surveys or interviews. This research may involve people with a macular disease, but also may extend to their families and carers.

Would you like to be involved?

There are a number of research centres that regularly recruit patients for clinical trials. Many of these centres allow you to register an interest.

This is not an exhaustive list of eye research centres. Speak to your ophthalmologist and ask if there are any relevant trials for you.

Stories from our community

Eye injections – a lifeline to the outside world

The centenarian, whose bookshelves and cupboards are crammed with biographies, literary classics and the odd Agatha Christie mystery, regards her regular eye injections as a lifeline.

“I’ll work until they put me in a pine box”

Mike can’t retire because he wouldn’t be able to afford the cost of eye treatment that prevents him from going blind.

“Rural ophthalmologists are overloaded with patients. We need more specialists out here”

People who live in rural and remote areas face real struggles to commit to start sight-saving eye injections and to stick with the treatment.

“The cost of my eyes has prohibited us from going on any kind of holiday”

My eyes are our holiday money. I’ve even considered giving up my injections. It’s a

“I don’t feel so alone anymore”

MDFA offers Peer to Peer phone calls as well as peer support groups, both face-to-face and online.

Forced to hang up her knitting needles

Sadly, eye injections came too late for Cheryl Chamberlain. But thousands of Australian patients will now be able to stick to this sight-saving treatment after both major political parties rejected a proposed Medicare rebate cut.

It’s a relief

Anne and 47,000 other Australians are relieved a proposed Medicare rebate cut for eye injections has been rejected.

Rebate cut rejected

The Government and Opposition reject a cut to the Medicare rebate for sight-saving eye injections, which threatened to blind 47,000 Australians.

It’s good news for people on a pension

The rejection of the proposed Medicare rebate cut is good news, “especially for people on a pension”, says Joe from Queensland.

Image shows Mike, subject of the story, against a blue background.

I’m so relieved

Mike says the rejection of a proposed cut in the Medicare rebate for eye injections means he can get on with life and not have to worry about the cost of maintaining his sight.

“This is really good news”

Eye injections have saved the sight of thousands of Australians since they arrived down under

Pastor Ron Clarke with his Order of Australia medal

I will lose my sight

Pastor Ron’s story: If I lose access to eye injections, I will lose my sight.