Anyone from the age of one. There is no age-limit for donating the eye. All one needs to do is bequeath his or her eyes by taking a simple pledge to donate the eyes after death. While taking a pledge during ones lifetime itself is a noble deed, it requires the support of the relatives or friends to carry out the wishes of eye donation of the deceased. People using spectacles and those diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension can donate their eyes.
Eyes need to be removed within six hours after death and so it is important to get in touch with your nearest eye bank at the earliest.
Please remember the following after making the call to the Eye Donation Association
- Keep the eyes of the deceased closed and covered with moist cotton.
- Switch off the ceiling fan, if any, directly over the deceased person
- If possible, apply antibiotic eye drops periodically in the deceased’s eyes to reduce the chance of any infection.
- Raise the head of the deceased by about six inches, if possible, to reduce the chances of bleeding at the time of removal of the eyes
The cornea is the clear, transparent layer in front of the “black portion” of the eye. It is also the main focusing surface, which converges light rays as they enter the eye to focus on the retina. It is thus the most important part of the optical apparatus of the Eye. Loss of transparency directly results in loss of vision
A Corneal transplant is an operation that replaces the opaque cornea with a clear cornea obtained from a human donor.
There are no religious conflicts on eye donation. Eye donation gives a gift of sight to others. As such, it is consistent with beliefs and attitudes of all major religious and ethical traditions.
Yes, provided the cornea of the donor is clear.
Death due to unknown causes. People who die due to infections such as rabies, syphilis, infectious hepatitis, septicemia, and AIDS, cannot donate.
