Your Eyes Can Be Vision for Others – Donate Eyes
The value of eyesight is really felt when one loses it. Blindness not only puts a social and financial burden on a person, but also impairs them in living life to the deepest.
There are not enough eye tissues available for surgery while approximately 11 Lack blind population of India are waiting for corneal transplantation and approximately 25,000 new cases are being reported.
The Process of Donating Eyes
- Donating eyes doesn’t mean removing the entire eyeball but only the cornea, the transparent section of the eye. It is taken out and stored in the nearest eye bank which transports it to eye surgeons when needed.
- People of any age and with any illnesses, such as diabetes or hypertension or even cataract, can donate eyes.
- A person willing to donate their eyes can register themselves with the eye bank nearest to them.
- Eyes should be donated within 6-8 hours of death. The procedure only takes 15-20 minutes and there is no disfigurement of the face of the donor.
- When a person dies, the family members can call the nearest eye bank, even if the deceased had not formally pledged their eyes during their lifetime.
- Eye Bank team will rush over to the donor’s home or any other place the body is available. This is free service in public interest.
- If certain eyes donated are tested medically unfit for the transplantation, they are sent to research centres for advancements in treatment and cure.
Reasons for Donating Eyes
- Your pair of eyes can give vision to two corneal blind people.
- By donating eyes, you helping the eye banks of India in catering to the ever growing numbers of corneal blind people in India.
- You are gifting the invaluable gift of life to another person, which also means that a part of you still stays alive after your death.
- Your donated eye is also contributing in the research of retinal diseases and other sight disorders which can be researched only via human eyes.
Procurement Organisations for Eye Donation
The major organisation in managing the eye banks in India is the Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI). It is a not-for-profit-society that houses about 515 organisations in eye banking.
There are NGOs like the MOHAN Foundation, which is based in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and has trained over 1300 transplant coordinators in the past seven years.
The National Eye Bank located at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is doing extremely well in research, transplantation, and conducting effective awareness programmes. They received eyes from about 23,000 donors at the Eye Bank, out of which more than 16,000 were used for transplant surgeries.
Narayana Nethralaya in Bangalore is a comprehensive eye care centre that has been performing well ever since its inception in 1982.
The A.G. Eye Hospital in Tamil Nadu, Saifee Hospital in Mumbai, and many more are actively involved in the broad-ranging facilities in the eye care services.
Pledge to donate your eyes so that the others can find a new depth of happiness in their life they previously hadn’t imagined. This is an invaluable gift. Let the good in you lead your decision-making.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.
References:
- Eye Bank Association of India, ‘Understanding Eye Donation’, official EBAI website (accessed on 21st April, 2020)
- Eye Bank Association of India, ‘About Us’, official EBAI website (accessed on 21st April, 2020)
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, ‘National Eye Bank’, official AIIMS website (accessed on 21st April, 2020)
- Mohan Foundation, ‘One Month Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programme, Chennai’, official website (accessed on 21st April, 2020)
- Narayana Nethralaya, ‘About Us’, official website (accessed on 21st April, 2020)
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