Vision for the Future

‘‘It all started four years ago, when I was hoping to regain vision in one eye,’’ says Lions Eye Bank chairman Dr Vinod Gupta. ‘‘My doctor told me I was on the waiting list for a transplant, and warned me to keep a suitcase packed, because a cornea could become available at any time. So for the next four months, I virtually refused to stir from the chair next to the telephone. I would even spend the nights there.’’

It was during those dark hours that Gupta swore he would do something to alleviate the condition of the sightless in Sirsa. Unlike most good resolutions, this one didn’t die. After the call he had awaited so intensely came through, and his vision was successfully restored, Gupta started work on evolving a system that would ensure 100 per cent success in eye donations.

‘‘I didn’t have much faith in the conventional system of pledging eyes after one’s death. So I decided to form a team of doctors who would visit a house where a death had occurred, counsel the bereaved and convince them to donate the deceased’s cornea,’’ says Gupta. ‘‘I was targeting a success rate of 50 per cent.’’

The campaign has been simple, but effective, so much so that Gupta says their success rate is nearer 60 than 50 per cent. ‘‘We have a 20-member team, mostly doctors. The moment we hear of a death, we put the eye surgeon on standby and inform the PRO and the club president, while two team members rush to the bereaved household and talk to the family,’’ says Gupta. ‘‘Usually, we are able to convince the family that their beloved will live on through someone else’s sight.’’

There are other indications that the concept of eye donation is transcending in-born inhibitions in Sirsa. The Lions Club has found many takers for a newspaper called Anmol Netra, which covers only health news. Dr Kar, who performed 11 of the 16 eye transplants in the past three months, is something of a local icon. ‘‘He provides free beds and medicines and is even ready to take on patients who have been rejected by the premier medical institutes of the region,’’ says Gururaj, club PRO.

Clearly, the future is bright, in more ways than one.