Team GB Paralympian shows support for Liverpool eye donation initiative

Great Britain Paralympic swimmer Stephanie Slater visited the Department of Eye and Vision Science based at the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease (IACD) in support of a new eye donation initiative and to see first-hand the work that is being undertaken to pioneer new treatments. Launched by St Paul's Eye Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital , the initiative aims to raise the awareness of the importance of eye donations for transplant and research purposes. It also encourages more people to donate their eyes to help others affected by sight loss. Stephanie began her sporting career as an able bodied athlete, but after suffering nerve damage to her left arm she switched to parasport. At the Rio 2016 Paralympics she won both Gold and Silver as part of Paralympics GB team. Keratoconus However, before these highlights in her sporting career she was diagnosed with a sight threatening eye condition, keratoconus, which affects the cornea and can make your vision distorted and blurred. As a result of the condition one of Stephanie's eyes received the latest treatment to prevent the condition getting worse, but the other eye was too badly affected and Stephanie required a corneal transplant.