Health
Eye Bank urges Nigerians to donate corneas as 200 await transplants
By Iyanuoluwa Abiola
As part of efforts to reduce the burden of corneal blindness, the Eye Bank for Restoring Sight has urged Nigerians to pledge their corneas for donation after death to help restore sight to people who need them.
The Eye Bank, a non-governmental organisation, said this had become imperative as 3.64 million Nigerians were living with corneal blindness, with more than 200 patients awaiting corneal transplants.
The cornea is the transparent, dome-shaped surface that covers the front part of the eye and serves as its outermost layer.
The NGO made the call while unveiling veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva, as the organisation’s brand ambassador for corneal donation and transplantation.
Speaking during the unveiling, the Chairman, Board of Governors of the Eye Bank, Dr Festus Oshoba, appealed to Nigerians to give consent for doctors to harvest their corneas after death to reduce the burden of cornea-related blindness in the country..
Oshoba said the NGO had facilitated more than 95 successful corneal transplants, including 19 involving children aged between 30 months and 18 years.
He noted that the ultimate objective of cornea donation was to ensure that people living with corneal blindness in Nigeria did not remain unnecessarily blind when their sight could be restored through transplantation.
Oshoba said Silva’s appointment was aimed at using her influence and public profile to promote cornea donation and encourage Nigerians to pledge their corneas for donation after death to help restore sight to people living with reversible blindness.
According to him, the Eye Bank was established to bring hope and restore vision to individuals whose sight had been lost due to corneal opacity, one of the reversible forms of blindness.
The eye specialist said the organisation was working to develop a national register that would provide reliable data on Nigerians who had undergone corneal transplantation and those who had regained their sight.
He said the NGO, whose motto is “Never Ignore Restorable Blindness,” was established in 2004 as a joint project of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria and the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind.
He said the number of patients still waiting for donor corneas underscored the urgent need for Nigerians to embrace cornea donation and increase public awareness about sight-restoring transplantation.
The Eye Bank, according to him, is committed to ensuring that Nigerians living with corneal blindness can regain their sight through corneal grafting, also known as keratoplasty.
He said the organisation had engaged groups, including Rotary clubs, Lions clubs and the Yoruba Tennis Club, in its public awareness efforts.
Oshoba urged Nigerians to pledge their corneas before death, describing the gesture as a way of giving another person the opportunity to see after the donor’s death.
“When you pass on, you can still keep on living. You can donate a part of your body when you are alive so that, when you are gone, this part can be removed and given to somebody who will use it,” he said.
He stressed that cornea donation was a scientific and medically regulated process, urging Nigerians not to allow misconceptions about organ donation to prevent people suffering from reversible blindness from receiving treatment.
Oshoba said the Eye Bank was also working to make Nigeria self-sufficient in cornea procurement and transplantation and reduce dependence on imported donor tissues.
He noted that the organisation currently operates from the Eye Institute Complex of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, with accommodation provided by the Lagos State Government.
The eye specialist disclosed that the Eye Bank and LASUTH had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen institutional collaboration and improve service delivery.
He said the organisation received no government subvention, with its activities largely sustained through donations from individuals, corporate organisations, philanthropists and partner institutions.
Oshoba said the Eye Bank’s plans included expanding donor registration and awareness campaigns nationwide, strengthening partnerships with tertiary hospitals, establishing a Cornea Preservation and Training Centre, and securing international grants and technical assistance.
He identified cultural and religious beliefs, as well as misconceptions about organ harvesting, as major barriers to corneal donation in Nigeria.
According to him, the organisation was particularly concerned about situations where religious practices required deceased persons to be buried within a short period, making the timely retrieval of donated corneas difficult.
Also speaking, the Medical Director of the Eye Bank for Restoring Sight Nigeria, Dr Mosunmade Faderin, said corneal donation could give people suffering from corneal blindness an opportunity to regain their sight.
“Why should you donate your cornea? It is very, very essential. If you donate your cornea, that cornea can be used to restore sight to a cornea-blind person,” she said.
Faderin urged Nigerians to ignore myths and see corneal donation as an opportunity to extend their impact beyond death.
“When I pass, and I give my cornea, part of me is still living on because somebody else is using it,” the medical director added.
The Vice Chairman of the Eye Bank, Mrs Fola Akande, urged Nigerians to embrace corneal donation, saying beneficiaries should share their experiences to encourage others.
“At death, we are still relevant. It is important to give so that someone else can live. Don’t let your sight die with your passing,” she said.
Responding, Silva pledged to use her influence to promote corneal donation and address misconceptions surrounding organ donation.
“I am going to amplify what has been done. There is going to be continuous advocacy and awareness-building,” she said.
The veteran actress said cultural beliefs and misconceptions about the removal of body parts after death had contributed to resistance to organ donation.
She argued that Nigeria, with a population of more than 200 million people, should build the capacity to meet its own need for corneal tissues instead of relying heavily on foreign sources.
“The medical practitioner cannot do it alone. There is advocacy where people need to become aware. Advocacy is so important that Nigeria does what Nigeria can do for Nigerians.
“We need to stop depending on the rest of the world. We are over 200 million people. Why must we depend on what we can do by ourselves?” Silva said.
In his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof Adetokunbo Fabanwo, urged Nigerians to embrace cornea donation and support the initiative.
Fabanwo, represented by the Deputy CMAC, Dr Bamidele Ayodele, also charged Silva to leverage her reputation and influence to deepen public awareness and encourage more Nigerians to pledge their corneas for donation.
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