Let us earn the virtue of spreading light by donating eyes

September 5, 2025

By Mandeep Kaur Brar 

While on duty, like every day, I was explaining the medicine to a patient in the ward, when my eyes fell on a small child lying on the nearby bed. The pupil of his eye had become completely blurred; he was suffering from corneal blindness. On asking the parents sitting nearby, they told that this problem is there since birth and the doctor has sent him to this hospital for treatment.

After a few days, the cornea of that child was transplanted. The child, who was struggling with the disease since birth, was now free from that problem. The happiness of the child and the relaxed faces of the parents made the atmosphere of the entire ward pleasant. That day I realised even more deeply how much light can be spread in someone’s life by donating eyes. This year, the National Eye Donation Fortnight is being observed from 25 August to 8 September.

I started looking for more such patients who were deprived of seeing the colourful world due to corneal blindness (blurring of the pupil). I am a nursing officer in a big government hospital in Chandigarh, where most of the patients are less educated or elderly. I started making people aware by gathering as much information as possible. I started explaining how great a virtue it is to donate eyes and how we can brighten someone else’s life even after leaving this world.

I said that even though a person sleeps forever after death, the light of his eyes can shine even a few hours after death. Your two eyes can brighten the lives of two people. Just as blood donation can save the life of a patient suffering from thalassemia or road accident, similarly eye donation can help a person living in darkness to see this colourful world again. The patients present in the hospital showed keen interest in what I said. Their curiosity increased further. I told them about the eye donation bank in the hospital. Many patients had heard about it for the first time.

Let us discuss in detail today the importance of National Fortnight, the process of eye donation and the misconceptions related to it.

Why is the fortnight observed?

“If you lose your eyes, you lose the world.” Around 35 million people around the world are blind due to various reasons, for whom the changing colors of the seasons don’t matter. Out of these, 3 million people are blind due to corneal blindness (defect in the pupil). If they get donated eyes, they can enjoy the colors of nature.

In India alone, 1 million people suffer from this problem and every year 20,000 new patients are added to this list. While on duty like everyday, I was explaining the medicine to a patient in the ward, when my eyes fell on a small child lying on the nearby bed.

The pupil of his eye had become completely blurred, he was suffering from corneal blindness. On asking the parents sitting nearby, they told that this problem is there since birth and the doctor has sent him to this hospital for treatment. After a few days, the cornea of that child was restored. The saddest thing is that out of these 30 lakh people, 60 percent are children below 12 years of age who do not even get the chance to see beautiful toys in their childhood. Most of the families are poor and less educated, who live considering it as God’s will.

If we donate eyes, then these children can get their vision back. Due to lack of awareness, especially in our country, people hesitate to donate eyes. If we look at the facts, the population of America is 32 crores and every year 1.5 lakh people donate their eyes. While the population of India is 142 crores, only 25,000 people donate eyes every year.

States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are at the forefront of eye donation. Every year about 3,000 people donate eyes in Delhi and about 600 people in Chandigarh. The Corona epidemic gave a big blow to this campaign, due to which the list of patients became longer. That is why, to make people aware, National Fortnight is celebrated from 25 August to 8 September under the “Roshni Ka Tohfa” campaign since 1985.

What is Corneal Blindness

Just like the glass of a watch, the cornea is the transparent tissue of the eye that covers our eye. This allows us to see clearly. But if this tissue gets damaged due to any disease, injury, chemical or infection, then the vision becomes blurred. Some people suffer from this problem since birth. Fortunately, lost vision can be restored by corneal transplant from donated eyes. Who can donate eyes? Everyone can donate eyes. Even if he wears glasses, has blood pressure or sugar problems, or has undergone an eye operation—he can still donate eyes.

But a person suffering from diseases like HIV, hepatitis-B/C, rabies, blood cancer cannot donate eyes.

If a person has not filled the eye donation form during his lifetime, then even after death, the family can donate eyes by informing the nearest eye bank.If the eyes are taken within 6-8 hours of death, then two people’s lives can be brightened. The procedure is simple, it takes only 10-15 minutes. The real eye is replaced with an artificial eye, which does not affect the face.

Myths and Misconceptions

• Many misconceptions have been spread about eye donation.
• It is said that donating eyes will make the next birth blind—this is absolutely wrong.
• It is also said that if the organs are incomplete, then one does not get a place in the next world – this too is baseless.
• If there was even a little truth in this, then why would celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan , Aishwarya Rai Bachchan come forward to donate eyes?

In today’s time, such superstitions have no importance. Efforts for awareness Governments have been making efforts at their level, but there is a need to make it a mass movement. Awareness boards should be installed in hospitals and health centres. Social organisations should promote this subject as much as possible. Pamphlets should be distributed in big public programmes.

The media should share the stories of people who have benefited from eye donation. I myself had pledged to donate eyes 15 years ago. Come, let us all go to the nearest government hospital or dispensary and fill the eye donation form and earn merit for the blind people. Now this form is also available online. With this effort of yours, blind children will be able to see the face of their parents and the colors of nature. Let us bring light into the world of someone whose life has meant only darkness till now

The writer is Nursing Officer at PGI Chandigarh