Eye Donation Fortnight coming up!

PRESS CONFERENCE August 23, 2023

A press conference was called by Dr. P. Sinha, Secretary of the Bihar Eye Bank Trust, to discuss how eye donation could be increased in Jharkhand with the help of the media. Sri S.S. Dubey, Treasurer, was present.

The hospital has planned events to safeguard eyes and increase awareness about eye donation during this fortnight.

The opening program is the distribution of pamphlets early on the morning of the 25th on Morabadi Maidan. Then posters reminding people that the Eye Donation Fortnight is on will be hung in different parts of the city.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023: Eye testing will be done at Ratanlal Surajmull Vidyalaya, a school for BPL children.

Friday, September 8, 2023: A closing program graced by dignitaries will be held at the Jharkhand Eye Bank, Hospital, and Research Centre.

The Secretary said that the hospital gives treatment for eye diseases like cataracts, glaucoma, squinting, and other ailments, but when eye check-up camps are held in rural places or by organizations, pamphlets are distributed and people present are informed about eye donation. The secretary said that their resources were limited and they could not reach all places. The media had far greater coverage, so she appealed to them to help raise awareness in Jharkhand.

The need for eye donations was discussed. Although we can cure cataracts by inserting man-made lenses, artificial corneas are not available. The cornea is the transparent tissue in front of the black part of the eye. When this gets cloudy through malnutrition, injury, or disease, the man can no longer see. For such patients, the only cure is an eye transplant. When a dead man’s eyes are donated, this can change the lives of two corneally blind men.

No one can donate their eyes while living, but we can sign a pledge saying that we want to donate our eyes after death. Then friends or family may remember this wish when the man dies.

One member of the press said there are adverse beliefs; some feel that they will be born disabled if they donate their eyes. The Secretary said that some even say their religion forbids it, but if you see the religious books, you will not find that it is wrong to do good to your fellow men. Ideas cannot be changed overnight, but one has to keep trying.

Someone asked about the cost of an eye transplant. The secretary said that Jharkhand Eye Bank Hospital is a charitable hospital, so they have kept the price much lower than other hospitals in India. Another reporter asked whether it was a complicated process to have an eye transplant. The Secretary informed the audience that the complication was all on the side of the hospital because it has to take a sample of the blood of the donor, make sure that no diseases like HIV, hepatitis, etc. can endanger the recipient, and also ensure that the quality of the eye is suitable for the recipient.

The Secretary gave a final appeal to the media to tell people that if a dear one died, the family could keep one part of him alive. If eyes were donated, they would continue to live and see the world in another body. The gift would bring light into dark lives. This would be an act of piety.