For this episode of the In Focus podcast, in honor of Diabetes Awareness Month, RI CEO Avril Daly speaks with consultant ophthalmologist Professor David Keegan. Professor Keegan is a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and now specialises in medical and surgical retinal disease including paediatric retinal surgery and diabetic retinal disease. He runs the Mater Multidisciplinary Inherited Retinal Degeneration and Diabetic Retinal Treatment Services along with the Retinal Clinical Trials Unit. He is the lead for Ireland’s collaborative application to the European Reference Network for Rare Eye Disease (ERN-EYE) and is also a member of the Retina International Scientific Medical Advisory Board (SMAB).

In this episode, Avril and Professor Keegan discuss how diabetes affects the eyes and why early detection is so important in preventing sight loss. Keegan tells us how screening for diabetic eye diseases works, and what preventative measures and treatments are available to preserve sight. They also discuss the theme for this year’s World Diabetes Day, “Access to Diabetes Care: if not now, when?” Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, people with diabetes don’t have access to the education and screening programs that are vital to their eye health.

Professor Keegan also talks about the stigma around diabetes, and why it’s important to be compassionate and understanding towards people with this lifelong condition. Diabetes can affect people of all ages, all around the globe in many different ways. With over 500 million people in the world living with diabetes today, it is vital that they receive the ongoing care and support needed to manage their condition, avoid complications, and maintain their vision.

If you’d like to learn more about this year’s World Diabetes Day, visit https://worlddiabetesday.org/.

For more information on Diabetes-related Eye Diseases, please visit the DED toolkit (link) on our website: https://ded.retinaint.org/