A yoga organisation is planning to collect 1,00,000 pledges for eye donations from across the country. The Sadguru Mangeshda Kriya Yoga Foundation will announce the progress of the campaign on March 12.
A yoga organisation is planning to collect 1,00,000 pledges for eye donations from across the country. The Sadguru Mangeshda Kriya Yoga Foundation will announce the progress of the campaign on March 12.
“Doctors had told our guru that if a spiritual leader makes an appeal for eye donations, there will be a good response. There are still lot of superstitions and stigma attached to eye donation,” said Sandeep Yederi of the foundation.
To spread information and remove misconceptions about eye donations, volunteers from the foundation have been going to various events where they address members of the audience for a few minutes.
“More than collecting pledges, it is important to create awareness about eye donation. When we speak to people about it, most seem to open to the idea, but are not sure how to go about it. Also, even if a person makes a pledge, relatives may not know how to complete the pledge when the person dies,” said Yederi.
Dr TP Lahane, dean of Sir JJ Hospital and an eye surgeon who has joined the cause, said, “There are quite a few social taboos about eye donation. People feel that if the eyes are donated, they will be no after life or punarjanma for the dead person. These are unscientific ideas. Unfortunately, the superstitions have a greater hold on the public than scientific truth. The fact is that if you donate the eyes, the corneas will outlive you on the earth. Isn’t this punarjanma?”
The taboos against eye donations mean that the number of people who volunteer for the cause are few. According to figures collected by the foundation, there are around 15 million people with curable corneal blindness in India, of which a third are below 45 years of age.
Dr Lahane said that the annual requirement for donor eyes is around 2,00,000, including about 25,000 in Maharashtra. “Every year, there are 72-80 lakh deaths in the country. But the number of actual donations is just 49,000. So non-government groups, government agencies and others need to canvass for the cause,” said Lahane.
Supporters of the cause include Dhanraj Pillay, former captain of the Indian hockey team and Gautam Rajadhyaksha, fashion photographer.
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