Health experts have urged Nigerians to pledge their corneas immediately after death for the use of those living to prevent corneal blindness.
They made the call during a symposium on Tuesday at an event commemorating the 2024 World Organ Donation Day and an event organised by Eye Bank for Restoring Sight, Nigeria, at the LASUCOM, Ikeja, Lagos.
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr. Festus Oshoba, dispelled the issue of using human parts solely for money and other ritual purposes.
According to him, the cornea and other parts of the deceased are useful for scientific purposes, particularly for the blind, to regain their sight.
He emphasised that pledging the cornea is important to reduce the incidence of blindness caused by a disabled or damaged cornea in Nigeria.
He added, “The aim of having this symposium today is to create awareness that when you pass on, you can still keep on living.
“You can donate a part of your body when you are alive so that when you are gone, this part can be removed and given to somebody who will use it, and through that person, you can keep living because the person will be using your eyes to see. Our motto is to never ignore restorable blindness.
“Other parts of the body, like the kidney, can also be used like that. In Nigeria, we are having issues because people use parts of the body for ritual purposes, but we want to say that here, what we do is scientific.
“Through your efforts, when you pass on, part of your body can be used to make sure a blind person can regain their sight and to encourage people to pledge that their cornea be removed when they pass on so that someone else can use it to see, hence they keep on living even after they have died.
“Therefore, I welcome you to this gathering with the sole aim of encouraging all Nigerians all over the world to ensure that they donate part of themselves that can be useful for others, and they can keep on living forever.”
The keynote speaker, Dr. Bade Ogundipe, while dissecting the theme of the event, “Giving a gift that goes on living,” disclosed that over 200 cornea transplants have been done in Nigeria.
He lamented that not up to 10 corneas have been harvested since the inception of the eye bank while also calling on health practitioners, both public and private, to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of cornea donation.
He said, “Most of the cornea problems we have, especially in Nigeria, are due to infection. Little trauma people don’t take into cognisance can become a big problem. By the time they know, it has become big. Some people may apply urine, breast milk, kerosene, and all sorts of things. This is why public and private health practitioners need to arm themselves with information to sensitise the public about eye donation and care.
We also need training for eye bank technicians. These are those that harvest, process, and store cornea and arrange the transportation of the cornea so that it can be moved to any part of the world safely. We also need equipment from the eye bank to test those tissues that we have.
“Importantly, we need support from everybody, including the government and religious leaders. They need to lead the advocacy for cornea donation so that their followers will see a reason for them to do so.”
On his part, Prof. Jacob Awobusuyi shared his thoughts on organ donation laws, ethics, and practice.
In his brief remarks, the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, who was represented at the event, congratulated Eye Bank for Restoring Sight, Nigeria, for identifying with a global event.
The highlight of the event was the launch and distribution of a wristband advocacy campaign to willing donors, just as donors and some of the beneficiaries of cornea donations shared their stories with the audience.
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