Cornea transplantation from darkness to light:

Cornea is the transparent front surface of the eye. It is an important optical structure through which rays of light enter the eye. Any damage or injury to this delicate structure can lead to permanent loss of corneal transparency of in other words cause clouding & opacification thereby preventing the entry of light rays into the eye & diminishing vision. In cases of severe of damage this can cause total loss of vision making the person visually handicapped due to corneal blindness. Tthere are millions of people suffering from corneal blindness. Out of these the total number of corneal blindness some cases include children under age 12 due to accidental damage to cornea. There are other conditions also such as malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency, infection, certain corneal diseases such as keratoconus, Corneal degeneration, which can cause corneal blindness

Corneal transplantation / keratoplasty/ corneal grafting is the surgical procedure done in-patients suffering from corneal blindness in order to restore sight. In this surgical procedure the diseased opaque cornea is replaced by a clear healthy donor corneal tissue which restores sight by allowing the light rays to enter the eye through transplanted clear cornea. This procedure of corneal grafting is possible only on the availability of donor cornea by process of eye donation. By donating eyes after death one human being can restore sight to a blind person.This gift of sight is invaluable in these visually handicapped persons.

Eye donation is possible only after death. It can be done by any person of any age, sex, caste, religion, people who wear glasses or have undergone an eye surgery can also donate. People of any age group can pledge to donate his/ her eyes after death. Even if one has not pledged the relatives can give their consent for the donation of the eyes of the deceased.