RetCam Appeal

Parents face great challenges when their child is born premature. There are so many potential worries because various parts of the baby’s body won’t have developed properly. One threat is the risk of blindness. However, with your help there is hope for thousands of babies born premature here in Ireland.

Smaller and more premature infants survive due to advances in neonatal care. But babies born earlier are at a higher risk of a number of dangerous conditions. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants.

In 2020, the sight-threatening condition was discovered in 21 of the infants born in one Dublin maternity hospital and placed in their neonatal intensive care unit. When detected, it can be treated.

Fighting Blindness remains committed to funding sight-saving Digital Retinal Cameras – to place them in maternity hospitals nationwide. We have already helped place these important machines in the National Maternity Hospital and the Rotunda Maternity Hospital in Dublin. We aim to ensure that no child loses their sight because hospital staff were unable to screen them.

Everyone involved in this project is deeply grateful – none more so than the medical staff who will have access to this state-of-the-art technology that, with your support, quite literally will transform the lives of those at risk of sight loss and vision impairment.

Mary Brosnan, Director of Midwifery, Kerry Beckett, Marketing Manager, its4women.ie, Evie Baxter, Victoria Smurfit and Dr. John Murphy, consultant neonatologist, The National Maternity Hospital stand together — Mary Brosnan, Director of Midwifery, Kerry Beckett, Marketing Manager, its4women.ie, Evie Baxter, Victoria Smurfit and Dr. John Murphy, consultant neonatologist at The National Maternity Hospital RetCam launch.

When you join our Private Members Draw your generosity is helping to save the sight of premature babies born in Ireland.

retcam machine at the rotunda — The RetCam machine can help give the gift of sight to premature babies.

Ensure all premature babies can be screened, and surgery performed in time to save their sight.

Help give the gift of sight through a RetCam to thousands of children.

Transform lives: You can help save the sight of babies at risk of blindness in Ireland.

Fighting Blindness thanks you for your support.