This article inaccurately states that AMD leads to blindness.

More accurately, AMD leads to central vision loss only, which is used for detail viewing. 65% of the visual field, the peripheral vision, remains unaffected. People who have the condition do not become blind (i.e. loss of all functional vision). We can continue to lead independent lives, even without the need for mobility aids. It is vital that your reading public understand this, as serious emotional trauma often results from such misleading terminology.

As decided by a majority vote of the global conference of AMD organizations (Brussels, May 2006), the disease is more accurately described as causing severe visual impairment, rather than blindness. For more information, please see:

http://www.mdsupport.org/library/notblind.html