Lord Colin Low of Dalston has been appointed patron of eye research charity Fight for Sight.
Lord Low, who has been blind since he was three years old, has been a lifelong campaigner for the rights of blind and disabled people. His new role will raise awareness of the importance of eye research and support the charity’s fundraising efforts.
He said: ‘Millions of people in the UK and around the world lose their sight as a result of eye diseases and conditions that we can’t prevent or treat. The only hope is through investment in medical research but sadly eye research is woefully underfunded.’
Lord Low is also vice-president of RNIB and has previously been president of the European Blind Union.
CEO of Fight for Sight, Michele Acton, added: ‘We are delighted that Lord Low has agreed to become a patron and support us in our efforts to stop sight loss. With real progress being made in the development of potential gene, stem cell and drug therapies and the use of new technologies to diagnose and treat eye disease, the pace of change has never been so rapid.’