In Sight

“It is such a simple thing; once someone passes away,they don’t need their eyes. But what if someone else could use their eyes for a better life?” says Chandan Suratwala,a Laxmi Road resident. This vision led a group of seven young men from the Suratwala Youth Club to approach every single member in the community to convince them to become a donor.

“It was very difficult initially,especially with the older generations. They would say things like if ‘we donate our eyes,it will disfigure our bodies’. Some even believed that they will be born blind in their next incarnation,” says 35-year-old Chandan. The seven Youth Club members then ran a painstaking campaign over the next few months. They started slowly,setting up eye donation camps at social gatherings such as Dandiya parties or ‘Natak’ shows that were frequently organised by the community. “Somehow,we were able to remove fear from their minds at these camps and everyone finally began to take interest in what we were saying,” says Chandan.

The group then approached each of the 465 members individually,explaining the concept to them,convincing them to sign up. “It worked. All it took was some convincing and now every one of us is a registered donor,” says Manish Suratwala,41,another Youth Club member.

Precious time is saved by the fact that family consent is no longer needed on the spot for the eyes to be harvested. This makes a huge difference to the campaign because if left unharvested too long,any organ begins to disintegrate and becomes unusuable. “All the families waived the need for consent and we have documents from everyone pledging their eyes to HV Desai Eye Hospital on their death,no questions asked,” says Manish.

Both Chandan and Manish have family members who have passed away and have donated their eyes as part of the community’s movement. Chandan’s sister,Meera Shah Suratwala was one of the community’s first few eye donors; a fact that helped in convincing several others to take the plunge. “Several young members are now also considering donating more of their organs,” says Chandan.

Manish’s uncle,who was over 80 years old when he passed away seven months ago,was also one of the original donors from the community. “Now it has taken emotional meaning for our members. They like to imagine that even though they are no longer around,someone else will see the world through their eyes. This has great personal meaning for us,” says Manish.

The group was also gifted an ambulance by one of the community members recently. This ambulance is used to make speedy transfers of the eyes to the hospital in Hadapsar. In a novel move,the Suratwala community has also decided that once a family member donates an organ to the programme,his or her family is entitled to make use of the ambulance in their own medical emergencies; a move that is proving to be a massive incentive for several community members. “This doesn’t just apply to our community. Anyone who donates their eyes to our programme from Pune can rest assured that their family members will always have our ambulance and assistance in times of need. It’s time this cause became wider and I hope our efforts will convince other people to donate their eyes too,” says Chandan.