Restoring Vision with Corneal Transplants

The world is a beautiful place with something new and amazing to see every day. The luminous sky, the blooming gardens, the effervescent sea, the looming skyscrapers, the rain, the snow, the birds - the world is replete with plenty of marvels to feast our eyes on! Had it not been for the gift of vision, the world would have been totally colorless and bland for all of us. Much before our mind learns to differentiate the colors and shapes around us, it's our eyes that help us distinguish a red from a blue, or a circle from a square.

Imagine a world without vision and you'd be horrified to the core. But if we look at those who cannot see, or those who have been deprived of this indispensable element of life since they were born or lost it due to some accident or disease, we would consider ourselves lucky to be blessed with such a privilege. Just close your eyes for a minute and you will instantly realize how a blind person sees the world everyday. There are no words that can describe that pain.

Today, India bears the largest burden of global blindness. A large number of people also suffer from serious vision impairment that affect their ability to be physically and financially self sustained. While the magnitude of problem is appalling, the need to take up the challenge of reducing it is far more pressing.

Some 15 million people in India are blind due to various factors, with 4.6 million people suffering from blindness due to corneal problems. Out of this, around 3 million people can be cured through corneal transplantation with eyes received as donations.

More than 90 percent of corneal transplant operations are carried out successfully and helps restore vision in people suffering from corneal blindness, including infants born with cloudy corneas. Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of eye donors in India with only a handful of people being operated every year.

Hence, raising awareness at a national scale, furthered by timely counseling of the grieving family continues to be a key input to make sure that rate of eye donations is not only maintained but also increased. Eyesight is a great gift, and a wise person will utilize this gift during life and after death as well. Death is a tragic loss that no one can escape. So, why not donate your eyes and continue to see the world even after your death. At least, you will have the satisfaction of giving vision to two sightless people and help them see what the world looks like.

"There is no bigger gift in the world than giving someone the gift of VISION." says Mr. Tej Kohli, a Philanthropist and Entrepreneur from Costa Rica. Founder of The Tej Kohli Foundation that provides financial, medical and educational assistance for underprivileged children around the world, Mr. Tej Kohli was deeply moved by the plight of blind people on his recent visit to India. And with this in mind, he decided to embark on a mission to eradicate it.

In collaboration with a local NGO, Nirmaya Charitable Trust, and and eye institute, Ahooja eye and dental institute, Tej Kohli Foundation is planning to assist over 1000 blind people every year in regaining vision through corneal transplantation. The average cost of this surgery is around Rs. 30,000, which is highly unaffordable in a country like India, where a majority of the population still struggles for one square meal a day . Recognizing this, the foundation has announced to extend 10 Million (INR) in grants every month to sponsor this noble cause. Additionally, the foundation also plans to launch a series of public awareness programs encouraging eye donation, besides establishing eye camps to identify the patients who are most in need of corneal replacement.