For long, experts have lamented that not enough people in Pakistan are donating their corneas post-death. If they do, then almost 300,000 people who suffer from corneal blindness in the country can easily be treated.
Now, experts are saying that things are finally changing for good. In 2020, more than 100 people got their eyesight back after successful cornea replacement surgery.
All these people got the eyes which were donated locally.
Pakistan Eye Bank Society’s medical director and ophthalmologist Dr Qazi M. Wasiq told SAMAA Digital that more than 1000 Pakistanis have donated their corneas till now.
He said that previously, Pakistan was completely dependent on donations from other countries, specially Sri Lanka. In last 40 years, 35,000 to 40,000 corneas were received from Sri Lanka.
The country also received corneas from the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA). But now, a lot of locals are becoming deceased cornea donors.
He credits this change to effective awareness campaigns throughout the country.
“We are running a successful deceased cornea donation program in Faisalabad where more than 50 people have donated corneas in the past few months,” he said.
The Parsi community in Karachi is also an active cornea donor and several donations came from the community in 2021.
Dr Wasiq also cleared a misconception about cornea donations.
“People think that the entire eyeball is taken out, which is not the case.”
Cornea is a clear, protective outer layer of the eye. Only this layer is removed for donation.
The process leaves no mark on the face and after donation, no one can tell if the person has donated their cornea or not.
The process of cornea removal
A deceased person’s cornea must be removed within eight hours of death. Along with the cornea, a blood sample is drawn to test whether the donor had any diseases or not.
“When the relatives of an organ donor inform us of their death, we reach within an hour to remove the cornea. The entire process is done in a respectful and dignified manner and it lasts only ten minutes,” said Dr Wasiq.
After removal, the cornea is placed in a preservative liquid and brought to an eye bank where it is tested for useability.
“We also check the donor’s medical history and runs some tests. If the results are fine, the cornea used within 15 days. Any delays can dilute the cornea.”
The process of cornea removal doesn’t only take place at hospital. It can be done at home too.
“Due to the technological advancements, the layers of a cornea can be split and one cornea is used to give sight to two people.”
A cornea is comprised of five layers: the epithelium, Bowman’s layer, the stroma, Descemet’s membrane, and the endothelium. If any one of these layers is damaged, it is replaced and not the whole cornea.
What stops people from donating corneas?
Dr Wasiq said that lack of awareness deters people from donating corneas. There is also a perception that Islam prohibits organ donation, but this is not true. Scholars have given edicts saying that it is not against Islam.
“Pakistan passed a law to regulate organ donation in 2010. The Council of Islamic Ideology reviewed it and said it is not contrary to Islam.”
How to become an organ donor in Pakistan
According to the Transplantation Society of Pakistan (TSP), anyone can be an organ donor. There is no age limit for deceased organ donation.
Anyone who wants to donate organs after death can fill this form and become a registered deceased organ donor with the TSP.
An organ may be donated by someone as young as newborn or as old as 75 years. However, the age limit for cornea donation is under 80 years old and between 16 years and 60 years for long bones. There is no age limit for skin donation.
In the case of natural death, organs that can be donated include kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine. Some tissues that may also be donated include corneas, skin, bone and bone marrow.
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