From
The Hindu. In the picture, actor Sneha pledges to donate her eyes to the Rotary Rajan Eye Bank at a function organised in Chennai on Tuesday. Managing Director of Rajan Eye Care Hospital Mohan Rajan.
“Though nearly 90 persons die every day in the city, all the eye banks put together receive only 10 pairs of eyes a day. There is a great deal of ignorance about eye donation,” said Mohan Rajan, Managing Director of Rajan Eye Care Hospital.
Stating that there is a huge backlog of patients in the country who suffer from corneal blindness, which requires transplantation, he said that 60 per cent of them are children below the age of 12. “Eyesight can be life altering for a child. A lot of them are waiting,” he added.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Blind-free India: Free cataract surgeries', organised in partnership with HelpAge India, here on Tuesday, Dr.Rajan said that one in every fifth blind person is an Indian. The hospital would be partnering with HelpAge India in the coming months to offer free cataract surgeries to the elderly. P.R.Anbazhagan, director, HelpAge India, handed over Rs.3 lakh as donation towards the cause.
According to Dr.Rajan, though 5.5 million cataract surgeries are performed in India every year, nearly two million people are getting added to the backlog.
Pledging to donate her eyes, actor Sneha said that everyone must come forward to donate their eyes. “Everyone must contribute to make India blind-free. As one person closes his eyes, another person can get the miracle of sight,” she said.
