World Eye Donation Day: People raise awareness, say 'it's not just an organ'

World eye donation day is observed on June 10 every year to encourage people to donate their eyes after death. The occasion is also used to raise awareness about visual impairment and blindness. Amid lockdown, the occasion particularly captured people's attention prompting them to share not only their thoughts but also contacts of the hospital where they could do it.

#WorldEyeDonationDay

With #WorldEyeDonationDay trending on Twitter, people shared pictures, pamphlets, poems and photographs to raise awareness on the issue. A comment on Twitter read, "One of the biggest gifts that we can give is to help someone see" while another read, "Be the reason for someone to see the sunshine. Donate eye, because you can & Give new life & colours to blind people..!"

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Who can donate eyes?

According to experts, eye donors could be of any age group or sex. People who use spectacles, diabetics, patients with high blood pressure, asthma patients and those without communicable diseases can also donate eyes. However, people with AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, Rabies, Septicaemia, Acute leukemia (Blood cancer), Tetanus, Cholera, and infectious diseases like Meningitis and Encephalitis cannot donate.

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How can a person become a donor?

The most important action a person can take is to tell his/her family and legal representative. Most states now require that families be offered the option of donation when a loved one dies. Families may give consent for donation. It is most helpful if they know in advance that s/he would like to donate his/her eyes. A donor card can serve as an indication to the family / legal representative and hospitals of one's intention to be an eye donor.

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