Lawyer with rare eye condition raises money through 2.6 Challenge

A lawyer with rare eye condition ran 26 km last weekend to raise money for eye research after undergoing pioneering clinical trial.

Mark Cohen, 28, from Bermondsey, has raised more than £3,000 as part of the 2.6 Challenge to raise money for eye research charity Fight for Sight, after he took part in a life-changing clinical trial to halt his sight loss.

He was diagnosed with choroideremia when he was 14 after his parents began to suspect he might have inherited the rare eye condition.

Choroideremia mainly affects men and progressively leads to blindness. Mark’s brother and his cousin Nick both have it, as did his late grandad, who became blind in later life.

Mark, pictured above, has good sight at the moment, but sometimes struggles with his peripheral vision, and in 2017 was told he could no longer drive.

Fight for Sight funded research at Imperial College in 2008 which led to a new gene therapy treatment for choroideremia. It is halting the disease and even restoring sight for some patients.

Mark has been a part of that clinical trial and hopes it will stop his sight deteriorating in his treated eye, so that he will never go fully blind.

He said: “Losing my driver’s licence hit me hard at the time but being on this trial has given me some perspective. It’s made me realise I could have an entirely different future as a result of this treatment. I owe that to Fight for Sight.”

Mark’s sight is now being monitored regularly. His cousin Nick took part in an earlier stage of the same trial, and it saved his sight.

Mark was due to run the London Marathon – now postponed until October 4 – for Fight for Sight on Sunday. Instead, he ran 26 km over the course of the weekend, and had friends and family join him in taking on a challenge in aid of Fight for Sight.

He had already collected  £2,862 through his marathon JustGiving page and brought in another £296 after completing last weekend’s run.

He said: “Postponement could have a devastating impact on charities, who will not benefit from the government’s charity support package, so I think it’s great that the London Marathon organised the 2.6 Challenge this weekend to help raise money for charities like Fight for Sight. I’ve seen first-hand the life-changing eye research Fight for Sight are supporting and the amazing impact it can have for people living with a sight loss condition.”

To donate to Mark’s Fight for Sight page, click here.