A National Eye Donation Awareness Rally was organised in the KK Nagar area of Madurai jointly by Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and trainee students of the Tamil Nadu Santhome Educational Charitable Trust.
The rally was flagged off by Dr Shailendra Singh and ophthalmologist Dr Sindhuja of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital. The rally was conducted with the objective of creating awareness among the public about the importance of eye donation.
More than 100 people, including college students and hospital staff, participated in the rally. The participants carried placards bearing awareness messages such as “Let us donate our eyes – Let us bring light into the lives of the visually impaired” and spread awareness about eye donation among the public.
Speaking on the occasion, ophthalmologist Dr Sindhuja said that donating eyes after death could help restore vision to people who had lost their sight. She stressed the need to dispel misconceptions about eye donation and increase awareness among the public.
Ophthalmologist Dr Shailendra Singh said that a large number of people in Tamil Nadu suffer from visual impairment, while the number of people coming forward to donate their corneas remains low. He said that donating a person’s eyes after death could potentially help two visually impaired persons regain their sight. If more people come forward to pledge their eyes, Tamil Nadu could move towards becoming a state free of avoidable blindness, he added.
Mattuthavani Police Sub-Inspector Kannan, who participated in the event, also spoke to the students and the public about the importance of eye donation awareness.
The awareness rally, which saw active participation from students, served as an effective platform to highlight the importance of eye donation among the public. The organisers said that continued awareness programmes on eye donation would encourage more people to come forward and pledge their eyes.
Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital General Manager Srinivasan, Public Relations Officer Lakshmanan, Rajesh and several other hospital administrators were also present.