Dr. Jyoti Sharma
Eyes are the precious Gift of God. Close your eyes and imagine the world and yourself. You will not have an idea with what it looks like when you only feel it. Eyes are very important for the human body. Without it a man won’t be able to see the beauty of the wonderful world. Eyes play a vital role in our day to day lives and are perhaps the most precious gift we have.
This world is visible to us because we are blessed with eyesight. Eyes are one of the most important sensory organs in the human body because it renders vision and the power to see. Visually impaired people feel that their life is incomplete as they can just touch, feel and smell things but can’t see it. The Cornea is the clear tissue covering the front of the eye. It is a focusing element of the eye. The vision is dramatically reduced or lost if the cornea becomes cloudy. This loss of the vision is referred to as corneal blindness. Several corneal diseases affect children and adults and can affect both eyes making them blind.
When the eye is affected only by corneal diseases, replacing this part will restore the vision in such people. Corneal replacement is an easy and simple surgery and is performed at several eye hospitals in the country.
Eye Donation:-
Eye donation is an act of donating one’s eyes after his/her death. It is an act of charity, purely for the benefit of the society and is totally voluntary. The eye donation of the deceased can be authorized by the next of kith & kin even if the deceased did not pledge to donate his / her eyes before death. Age or systemic illness such as diabetes or hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease is not barriers for eye donations. The corneas of a person are unaffected even if they have undergone any eye surgeries in the past and hence will be useful can be transplanted in others.
Importance of Eye Donation:-
Donated eyes can be used to restore vision in people who are suffering from corneal blindness. The front, clear and transparent tissue of the eye called as cornea can be used to restore vision in a corneal blind person. From each pair of donated eyes, two blind people will get vision and light in to their life, thus making it more divine. Statistics show that there are 15 million blind people in India and out of this, 6.8 million people are suffering from corneal blindness. So the importance of eyes donation can be well imagined.
Myths related with Eye Donation:-
People are of the opinion that if they donate their eyes in this life, they shall be born blind in the next-life :- There is no written rule about this and nobody has experienced this! Eye donation is truly a good deed and a good deed always begets good. All religions and their institutions support eye donation and consider it as one of the best donation a person can make.
People hesitate to pledge their eyes for donation worrying about how their relatives will react.
Such people should keep in mind that a little resistance should not hinder the good deed that one is performing. In fact, they should try to motivate their relatives and friends for donating the eyes, by describing the good effects of this donation movement.
Person with eye problem like Cataract or Glaucoma cannot donate their eyes.
Many people have that myth. Many of my seniors and colleagues believe that a person suffering from myopia or hypermetropia cannot donate his/her eyes. A Person who has Cataract or Glaucoma cannot donate their eyes, But a person operated for Cataract or Glaucoma can BE considered for eye donation. Also, Age will not come into picture while donating the eyes. As long as the person or his/her family/friends have a good mindset of doing some good to blind, can donate their eyes
Procedure for Eyes Donation:-
The local telephone directory usually lists the phone number of eye banks under essential services. The eye bank personnel would give directions and precautions to be taken. The process of removing eyes does not take more than 15 to 20 minutes. The eye bank team can come either to the house where death has taken place or to the hospital where death has taken place to remove the eyes there. It would not delay the funeral arrangements. Switch off fans and switch on Air conditioner (if available). Raise the head of the deceased slightly by placing a pillow underneath. Place wet clean cloth over the closed eye lids. Please ensure that the eyelids are properly closed. Keep a copy of the death certificate ready (if available). Contact the nearest eye bank as quickly as possible. Give the correct address with specific landmarks or famous name of our area and mobile and residence number to enable the team of eye bank for locating the house easily. Give alternate cell number of any available relatives also. The eye bank team, which would have a trained technician and/or a registered medical practitioner, would remove the eyes after taking consent on a printed form in the presence of two witnesses.
How to contact an Eye Bank
A special Toll free number 1919 (BSNL) Nationwide has been allotted for eye banks. Most of the eye banks all over the country have this number, once information for eye donation is communicated to eye banks; the eye bank sends its team to collect the eyes. By calling this number, details about eye donation can also be obtained. Also, all local news paper carry the eye banks number in their Emergency Number list.
Conclusion:-
Just feel the feeling that you are still alive after your death and serving some other in most crucial way. All religions endorse eye donation. There are numerous examples in our traditions and scriptures, which endorse eye and organ donation. A part of the body would be consumed by flames and reduced to ashes or which is buried and allowed to decay and disintegrate & cannot be put to a better use than restoring vision to the needy. There are wide spread social awareness programs and activities conducted across the country to impart the significance of eye donation and its usefulness to the visually impaired people. Till date, medical researchers and scientists are working on developing artificial cornea, but till that time, donating the eyes would be the best gift ever for a blind person suffering from corneal blindness.
(The author is Assistant Director, P&DD)
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