A fresh call on Nigerians to donate corneas from their eyes at death, in order to let others with sight problems see, has been made by the Eye Bank For Restoring Sight Nigeria.(EBRSN) is a non-profit making voluntary organization, sponsored by the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN) and the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (NSB).
An Eye Bank is a storage where corneas removed from dead donors soon after their deaths are processed and kept until it is used by the surgeon for cornea transplant. Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Dr. Olaseinde Akinsete, in an attempt to improve, promote and restore hope of sight to the blind in the country disclosed that 98% cornea operations with success rate at over 90% have been performed with the help of the Eye bank For Restoring Sight in Nigeria (EBRSN).
Medical Director of the Eye Bank, Dr. Mosunmade Faderin, at a press conference in Lagos, said: “The Eye Bank is a storage place where corneas removed from dead donors after their death are processed and kept until it is used by eye surgeons for sight restoration.”
“Furthermore, the Eye Bank is primarily an organization that was set up to harvest, process and distribute donated corneas/eyes. In doing this, the organization will be promoting the concept of cornea/eye donation so that people that need this sight saving surgery will have the donated cornea available to them locally.”
So how does the process work? Dr. Faderin explained: “Cornea is the transparent front part of the eye, also referred to as the window of the eye. When the cornea is damaged, it loses its transparency and the person cannot see which is known as cornea blindness. Sight can be restored to such a person through cornea transplantation or cornea graft”. “Cornea transplantation is the process of using a clear, healthy cornea from a donor, to replace the damaged cornea. Furthermore, for donor corneas to be used it must be harvested and stored in culture medium (optisol GS) within 12 to 18 hours of death. If the body is kept in the morgue, the cornea can be harvested within 24 hours before
A fresh call on Nigerians to donate corneas from their eyes at death, in order to let others with sight problems see, has been made by the Eye Bank For Restoring Sight Nigeria.(EBRSN) is a non-profit making voluntary organization, sponsored by the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN) and the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (NSB).
An Eye Bank is a storage where corneas removed from dead donors soon after their deaths are processed and kept until it is used by the surgeon for cornea transplant. Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Dr. Olaseinde Akinsete, in an attempt to improve, promote and restore hope of sight to the blind in the country disclosed that 98% cornea operations with success rate at over 90% have been performed with the help of the Eye bank For Restoring Sight in Nigeria (EBRSN).
Medical Director of the Eye Bank, Dr. Mosunmade Faderin, at a press conference in Lagos, said: “The Eye Bank is a storage place where corneas removed from dead donors after their death are processed and kept until it is used by eye surgeons for sight restoration.”
“Furthermore, the Eye Bank is primarily an organization that was set up to harvest, process and distribute donated corneas/eyes. In doing this, the organization will be promoting the concept of cornea/eye donation so that people that need this sight saving surgery will have the donated cornea available to them locally.”
So how does the process work? Dr. Faderin explained: “Cornea is the transparent front part of the eye, also referred to as the window of the eye. When the cornea is damaged, it loses its transparency and the person cannot see which is known as cornea blindness. Sight can be restored to such a person through cornea transplantation or cornea graft”. “Cornea transplantation is the process of using a clear, healthy cornea from a donor, to replace the damaged cornea. Furthermore, for donor corneas to be used it must be harvested and stored in culture medium (optisol GS) within 12 to 18 hours of death. If the body is kept in the morgue, the cornea can be harvested within 24 hours before embalming.”
