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The only substitute for a human cornea is another human cornea. The
cornea is the clear window covering the front of the eyeball that allows
the light to pass through to the retina, which enables us to see. Any
threat to its clarity will plunge a person’s universe into darkness.
Trauma and corneal infections are the commonest causes of corneal-related
blindness in Sabah. The need for corneal grafts is more acute in Sabah
than in other parts of Malaysia. Risk escalates with increasing use of
contact lenses and failure to use protective eye goggles at work
In eye donation, not only
the cornea is used for transplantation to save sight, the outer covering,
the sclera, can be used for reconstructive surgery. Therefore one eyeball
donation can benefit as many as 5 recipients.
Eye transplantation was
first performed in the world in 1905 and in the 70s in Malaysia
Unfortunately until today most of the corneas are still donated by Sri
Lankan Buddhists. This sad state of affairs is shown in the 1997 figures
of University Hospital Kuala Lumpur, where only 8 out of 40 donors were
local.
Harvesting of eyes can
take place up to 12 hours after death, preferably within 6 hours. It can
be even carried out at the home of the donor. Retrieval takes less than an
hour and will not delay the funeral. Corneas generally do not require
matching by tissue type and corneal transplantation is a simple and cheap
procedure compared to solid organs. Graft survival is up to 97% at one
year. Many donors worry about the sunken appearance after the removal of
the eyes. There is no disfigurement and the bulge is still present. After
removal, the eyelids are closed skillfully by fine sutures.
There are very few
contraindications to eye donation. Ironically these can be summarised in
the mnemonics “DONOR”. They are:-
- Death of unknown cause.
- Oncological illness (cancer).
- Neurological disease of unknown cause and degenerative
disease such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (human version of the bovine
Mad Cow Disease)
- Ocular conditions where there are active inflammation
and infections, and documented eye tumours. A majority of those with
poor vision can still donate their eyes as most have cataract,
glaucoma or retinal diseases that do not have any bearing on the
health of their cornea.
5.
Rabies and other systemic infections including active
septicaemia, HIV, hepatitis C. Hepatitis B donor corneas can be
considered for recipients. who have already contracted hepatitis B.
It is high time Malaysians
change their mindset regarding organ tissue donation. Major religions
support and in fact encourage organ donation, yet few people are coming
forwarded to declare their support. Through one single act, you can save
many lives and restore sight to as many as 10 needy persons. So what is
preventing you ??
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