Appeal
India has the largest population of visually impaired people in the world. The population of blind people who cannot see due to ‘corneal’ blindness exceeds 2 million. Every year, upto 50,000 people go blind due to various corneal diseases and are added to the huge backlog of patients awaiting corneal transplants. Many of these can be helped if they undergo corneal transplantation. However, only 36,000 eyes were donated last year!
Tremendous advances have been made in eye, tissue and organ transplantation in the recent years, offering hope of significant improvement in quality of life for many people. Yet much needs to be done to overcome the shortage in the supply of donated organs. It is indeed sad that out of nearly 1 crore deaths countrywide, less than 40,000 donated their eyes, less than 0.4%!
All major religions approve of organ donation. However, there are also superstitions and strange beliefs to contend with, especially in rural areas, including the belief that one will be born disfigured or blind in the next birth if eyes are removed before cremation / burial and that the process of eye donation involves hassles like taking the dead person to the hospital and waiting for procedures. Many of us fail to undertake the little effort to be informed about nearby eye banks and eye donation teams which can facilitate the act of eye donation at that crucial and emotional moment.
Death provides many of us with a one- time chance to make a valuable gift to humanity. Organ and eye donation at a time of death can be the gift of life or sight to the recipient. Let us all take this step and make organ donation our and our family tradition and eradicate corneal blindness amongst our fellow countrymen. The goal…is Sight!
Tremendous advances have been made in eye, tissue and organ transplantation in the recent years, offering hope of significant improvement in quality of life for many people. Yet much needs to be done to overcome the shortage in the supply of donated organs. It is indeed sad that out of nearly 1 crore deaths countrywide, less than 40,000 donated their eyes, less than 0.4%!
All major religions approve of organ donation. However, there are also superstitions and strange beliefs to contend with, especially in rural areas, including the belief that one will be born disfigured or blind in the next birth if eyes are removed before cremation / burial and that the process of eye donation involves hassles like taking the dead person to the hospital and waiting for procedures. Many of us fail to undertake the little effort to be informed about nearby eye banks and eye donation teams which can facilitate the act of eye donation at that crucial and emotional moment.
Death provides many of us with a one- time chance to make a valuable gift to humanity. Organ and eye donation at a time of death can be the gift of life or sight to the recipient. Let us all take this step and make organ donation our and our family tradition and eradicate corneal blindness amongst our fellow countrymen. The goal…is Sight!
If you want to donate eyes then pls send us the Eye Donation Pledge Form by email : india@iwishcare.org
Who Can Donate Eyes?
It has been proven beyond doubt that almost everyone can donate eyes. People who wear spectacles,with high B.P., diabetics or people with systemic disorders like asthma, tuberculosis, or even those who have undergone cataract surgery can donate eyes. The only criterion is a healthy and clear cornea.
Eyes have to be harvested within six hours of death. So it is critical to inform the nearest eye bank. It is always best to fill out an eye-pledge form and inform family members of your desire. Expressing a desire for eye donation in one's will is fairly useless since a will is generally opened only a few days after the death, while an eye needs to be harvested within six hours.
Facts about Eye Donation
- Eyes can be donated only after death
- Eyes 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
- Religions are for eye donation
- The identities of both the donor and the recipient are kept confidential
Important Points
To donate eyes, the relatives of the deceased should do the following procedures
- 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
- For more information visit www.ebai.org or any of the other local eye banks. You could also call 1919 toll free across the country to get information.
For more information visit your nearest eye bank or email us.
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