Wednesday, September 5, 2012

A Closer Look At Being An Eye Donor

By Mitzi Fitzgerald


An eye donor is a person who offers this part of this body for donation after he or she dies. This part of the body is extracted from his or her dead body and used to treat patients who have sight problems. This is a very noble thing to do. After all, after death, the eyes cease to have any use for the individual.

Donating this part of the body is very easy. If one would like for this part of his or her body to be given to someone who needs it after death, he, or she needs to register with an eye bank. In the registration, one has to confirm that it is his or her will that this be done. In other words, registration is giving consent for the action to be taken upon death. Therefore informing relatives is necessary, especially the immediate family members about this intention.

The most important part of the donated eye is the cornea. It is the cornea that has the greatest use as well as the most important one. If a donor had a faulty cornea, it would be impossible to get the maximum benefit from his or her donation. However, one should not get discouraged since this does not mean that his or her donation will be useless. There is alternative use for such a donation.

The reason for the great importance of the cornea is that it helps to treat one of the most common eye problems, which is corneal blindness. This is a situation where the cornea of the individual is damaged. The individual therefore experiences difficulty with his or her eyesight. There are very many people who suffer from this condition. Many of them can however not get help because there is a scarcity of donors. This is a very sad state of affairs.

Donation is non-discriminatory. It is open to people of all age, race, and creed. The only per-requisite for donation is the consent of the individual concerned. In case the individual was not, yet an adult at the time of death, consent from his or her parents or guardians is required. This consent also has to have been given by the deceased person before his or her death.

It is important to note that the donation is a free service. One should never be conned into paying any amount in order to have their wishes granted after death. All the expenses to be incurred during this process are covered by the eye bank where the individual made his or her registration. Unethical employees of the bank may want to fleece the family members of the donor after his or her death.

Experts advise that one should not put it in his or her will that they would like their eyes donated. There is good reason for this. It takes a while for a will to be executed. In most cases, this is usually done after the deceased has been laid to rest. The donation cannot be done at this time. The recommended time for the donation to be done is immediately after death.

An eye donor does many good to the recipient of the eye. It may sound scary at first. It is however worth thinking about.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment