Eye donation campaign fortnight kicks off Nishikant Sapam pledges to donate his eyes

    26-Aug-2020
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Eye donation campaign for
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Aug 25: Proprietor of The Sangai Express, Nishikant Singh Sapam has pledged to donate his pair of eyes as a 15-day Eye Donation Campaign Fortnight kicked off at RIMS's PMR auditorium hall today.
The inaugural function organised by the Sama-drishti Kshamata Vikas Evam Anusandhan Mandal (SAKSHAM), Manipur Prant in strict compliance with the COVID-19 protocol and social/physical distancing norms, the campaign focused on generating awareness among people working in different fields through video conference to donate their eyes.
Speaking at the occasion, SAKSHAM Manipur Prant secretary H Jadumani highlighted the difficulties and lack of facilities in the State which pose serious hindrance to such eye donation campaigns.
Even though JNIMS (Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences) has an eye bank since 2016, it is not fully functional till today. There is lack of expertise and proper training to staff to run the facility successfully. The eye bank still lacks expertise to successfully take/preserve eyes after the death of donors, he said.
Through the video conference, one of the experts informed that the eyes of donors who had registered for donation are taken after their deaths. After the death of a person, his/her pair of eyes remain alive for upto 6 hours, he said.
After death of the donor, the cornea of the eyes are taken out medically and stored in the eye bank for transplantation to visually impaired persons to give him/her vision, he added.
"Even though the donor in his lifetime had registered for eye donation, family members at times raise objections against removing eyes from the dead person. There is a need for proper awareness on organ and eye donation. Gifting vision to someone who is blind is a noble act. Such a noble gift is wasted when we cremate or bury the dead. There is no dharma greater than giving someone vision," he said. Pledging to donate his pair of eyes, The Sangai Express proprietor Nishikant Singh Sapam appealed to all to register themselves and donate their eyes for those unfortunate ones who cannot see.
"After my death, my pair of eyes can give vision to at least two persons," he said.
SAKSHAM Manipur Prant president, Dr Sapam Jaswabanta also appealed people to donate their eyes and gift vision to those who cannot see.
The campaign will continue till September 8.