Donate Eyes-Give Sight! National Eye Donation Campaign at AJ Hospital

Donate Eyes-Give Sight! National Eye Donation Campaign at AJ Hospital

“The eye is the window to the world, at the same time, it is the window of the soul.” – Shakespeare. Donate Eyes-Give Sight! National Eye Donation Campaign at AJ Hospital. National Eye Donation Fortnight has being observed from August 25th and will end on ‘National Eye Donation Day’ – September 8th 2017, as designated by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

DUMP YOUR ” I ” BUT DON’T DUMP YOUR “EYE” ! DONATE IT. ‘Useless to Dead, Priceless to Blind- Eyes are a precious gift to mankind. A wise man utilizes the gift while alive, and after death too. Let Eye Donation be your family tradition. Eye Donation – a gift of beauty, a return for Eternity. One Eye Donation can make two blind people see. Let’s make Eye Donation a family tradition. Let Someone See The Beauty Through Your Eyes. Give The Gift Of Sight And See A Whole New Light. Let your eyes change someone’s life. Make someone’s future bright, donate your sight. So, Let’s donate eyes. Aapki aankhen duniya dekhen ,aapke saath bhi, aapke baad bhi…!

Mangaluru: A J Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Mangaluru which has been instrumental in bringing awareness on Organ Donation/Cadaver Donation, has also being making strenuous efforts to promote “Eye Donation” to facilitate large scale Cornea Grafting Surgeries. In India there is an amazingly poor supply of donor eyes, and the ignorance on eye donation seems to be the main culprit apart from religious dogmas. In order to bring awareness of Eye Donation, Department of Ophthalmology at AJ Institute of Medical Sciences and research Centre, in association with South Kanara Ophthalmic Society (SKOS) have already begun the campaign from 25 August, and will culminate on 8 September, which is “National Eye Donation Day’

Sources reveal that 35 million people are BLIND or going blind in the developing world and most of them can be cured. Out of 3 million corneally blind people 60% are children below the age of 12. Target retrieval of corneas by Eye bank of India is 150,000 corneas per year. So, if we have got God’s gift of Vision, why not try to pass it on to somebody who doesn’t have it? The number of people awaiting corneal transplant is out numbering the available donor tissues. Corneal Transplantation is the only effective restoration for the replacement of human tissues in the eye. This is considered as a precious and possessed gift of sight for millions of people all over the world. Eye donation is an act of donating one’s eyes after his/her death. Eye Donation means extraction of Cornea within six hours after death and to be used for Corneal grafting to corneal blind person. There will be no extraction of the entire eye-only cornea is extracted. Eyes can be donated with the consent of the relatives even though application regarding eye donation is not submitted. Age is not a constraint for eye donation, and all religions can give consent for eye donation. Eyes can be donated even after cataract surgery.

Dr Sudhir Hegde, Professor and HOD Department of Ophthalmology; and President SKOS (South Kanara Ophthalmic Society), and who has been with AJ Hospital/Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre since 2002, speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” Eye Donation is an act of charity, purely for the benefit of the society and is totally voluntary. It is done after death. So eye-donation should be encouraged in a large scale, as one of the best means of social service. To enable another person obtain vision is one of the best forms of charity. Even after death the donor lives in the eyes of recipient. Eyes from a dead person can enable two blind people to acquire vision.”

“There are currently an estimated 15 million blind people in India. 6.8 million of these suffer from corneal blindness with vision less than 6/60 in at least one eye, and of these, about 1 million have bilateral corneal blindness. If the present trend continues, it is expected that the number of corneally blind individuals in India will increase to 10.6 million by 2020. Of these at least 3 million can be benefited by corneal transplantation. Thus, to effectively meet the ever growing demand, we need around 150,000 corneal transplants to be performed every year.The clear and transparent tissue at the front of the eye is called cornea. This can be used to restore vision to persons with corneal blindness. The cornea is a focusing element of the eye. Vision is dramatically reduced, even lost, if the cornea becomes cloudy. This loss of vision is referred to as corneal blindness” added Dr Hegde.

When asked who can donate eyes and who can’t, Dr Hegde replied saying, “Eye donors could be of any age group or sex; People who use spectacles, diabetics, patients with high blood pressure, asthma patients and those without communicable diseases can donate eyes. Persons who cannot donate eyes are those with AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, Rabies, Septicemia, Acute leukemia (Blood cancer), Tetanus, Cholera, and infectious diseases like Meningitis and Encephalitis cannot donate eyes.

Giving more facts about eye donation, Dr Hegde said, ” Eyes can be donated only after death, and they must be removed within 4 – 6 hours after death. Only a Registered Medical Practitioner can remove eyes from a deceased. The eye bank team will remove the eyes from the home of the deceased or from a hospital. Eye removal does not delay the funeral since the entire procedure takes 20-30 minutes only. A small quantity of blood will be drawn to rule out communicable diseases. Eye retrieval does not cause disfigurement. Earlier in the years, a few religions were reluctant towards donating of eyes, but later through awareness programmes and other mode of promotion on Eye Donation, many religious communities have opted for eye donation, which is good sign to note”

Dr Hegde further said, “The identities of both the donor and the recipient are kept confidential. A few Important points are that To donate eyes, the relatives of the deceased should follow certain procedures like Close the eyelids of the deceased; Switch off the fan; Raise the head of the deceased slightly by placing a pillow underneath; Contact the nearest eye bank as quickly as possible; Give the correct address with specific landmarks and telephone number to enable the eye bank team locate the place easily; If the death certificate from the physician is available, keep it ready; Eye donation can be done only with the written consent of the next of kin in the presence of two witnesses.

An eye bank is a charitable organization without any profit motive. It facilitates the removal, processing and evaluation of eyes and distributes them to persons in need of an eye transplant. By donating Eyes it shows your responsibility to society as a caring, committed citizen.”

He concluded by saying, “Your attitude makes a world of difference…..Your decision offers a vision of hope, by pledging your eyes and those of the members of your family; by being a member of the eye donation association; by calling the nearest eye bank immediately when a death occurs in the family; and by giving the correct address with specific landmarks and a telephone number to enable the eye bank team to locate the place easily. Donate eyes and give someone the gift of sight…..Say Yes to Eye Donation! “

In conclusion, The core objective of the Eye Donation campaign is to promote the eye donation process as well as to put forth the significant message to the people for being the special part of eye donation or eye pledging for giving normal life to the common public. Donation of eyes is otherwise service to God and an expression of gratefulness to him. Behold the speculate of eyes of the deceased living magnificently in the recipients body although the body of the deceased itself is no more. Eye donation is divinity and nobility exemplified in one. Pass on the lives of your lost dear ones by rendering their eyes to the blind. Let each one of us become a ‘living lamp’ dispelling darkness and ushering light and joy to the blind in millions. Please donate eyes and give sight”.

For queries, if any, please call Dr Sudhir Hegde at 9880219903 or AJ Hospital at 0824 222 5533