Case and age-matched (within 5 years) control subjects will be recruited. Recruitment will take place in two ways: 1) If patients that have been seen at the VA within the last two years, have been diagnosed with AMD or qualify as a control subject, they will be called to see whether they wish to participate in the study. Those subjects wishing to participate will be given a consent form to read and sign at their next VA visit. They will then be asked to provide information about their smoking status, and a blood sample (two 3 mL tubes) will be collected. 2) Patients will also be recruited after the diagnosis in the doctor's office (i.e., they have been diagnosed with AMD or qualify as a control subject). Upon signed consent, these subjects will also be asked to provide information about their smoking status, and a blood sample (two 3 mL tubes) will be collected. Flyers will be posted at the VA to alert patients of this clinical trila and flyers will be made available to ophthalmologists in the area to provide to their patients.