Eye donation: The gift of sight

By Dr Neeraj Jain, MBBS, MD (ophthalmology), DNB, MNAMS
What is eye donation?

The most transparent part of the eye which is in front of the eye is called the cornea. If this becomes opaque (due to diseases such as an ulcer, infection or injury) it stops or reduces light transmission into the eye. This condition is called corneal blindness. To treat corneal blindness, the diseased cornea is replaced with a new transparent cornea. The only source of a transparent cornea is donated corneal tissue from the human race. The most important fact that makes donation possible is that the cornea is alive even after death, and can be used successfully if retrieved soon after the death of a person.

When a person decides to donate his/her eyes after death, the eye will be collected by a team from the eye bank and that is why it is called eye donation. We will discuss this procedure in detail later.