Find the light
The day the doctor removed the bandage from Mrs. V’s eyes after the corneal transplant surgery was also her 65th birthday. Even more touching, the light source she saw was from the cornea of a former doctor working at Military Hospital 103.
For more than 10 years, because she could not see anything, only hear sounds, when she saw the light, Ms. V shared the story of her blindness and the joy of having a corneal transplant.
Ms. V shared that she has hereditary corneal dystrophy and has been blind in both eyes for more than ten years. Her life is very difficult as she cannot move or take care of herself, making her always feel like a burden to her family.
She has been on the waiting list for a transplant for a long time, but corneas are scarce and there are many people waiting. The family cannot afford to receive corneas from abroad, so they just wait.
The miracle happened on September 25 when the Tissue Bank of Hanoi Eye Hospital 2 received the cornea donation of Captain L.T.H.M (75 years old) - former officer of the Pharmacy Department of Military Hospital 103.
Ms. Thuy Duong (working at the Tissue Bank of Hanoi Eye Hospital 2) shared: At 5:00 a.m. on September 25, Captain M breathed his last in the grief of his family and those around him. Suppressing the pain in his heart, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Le Trung - doctor, Vice Chairman of the Department/Department of Ophthalmology of Military Hospital 103 - followed his mother's last wish and called the Eye Bank to donate her corneas.
Immediately, Eye Bank technicians arrived and quickly removed the donor's cornea.
This is also the cornea donation case that moved many people with the image of a male military doctor hugging his mother for the last time after fulfilling her last wish to donate corneas, bringing light to others.
The corneal transplant took about 45 minutes. Currently, the recipient's condition is stable, the initial results are quite positive, he can see 1/10 and walk on his own. However, this is only the initial result, in the coming time, he needs to be monitored and re-examined regularly as prescribed by the doctor.
Ms. V shared more: "Wishing for eyes to be able to see was a dream that seemed like it would never happen. However, a miracle happened to me. The day before I was informed that there was a donated cornea and was selected for a transplant, I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep. Even when I was on the operating table, it was still a dream, having waited for thousands of days without a cornea for me. When I woke up from the surgery, I felt very excited, even though my mind was still not clear at that time."
The female patient said she was extremely happy and grateful to the person who donated her cornea.
Scarcity of donations
Currently, the demand for corneal transplants is very high but the source of donor children is scarce. According to statistics, in Vietnam there are more than 30,000 people who are blind due to corneal diseases. They need corneal transplant surgery to regain their sight.
During the period 2007-2023, the whole country had 45,000 cornea donation registrations, of which 963 people donated corneas after death from 20 provinces and cities across the country. The youngest donor was a 4-year-old child and the oldest was an elderly person over 107 years old.
However, the number of transplants is very small. Long lines of patients have to wait 5-6 years without a source of corneas to donate. There are still hundreds of thousands of patients who have to accept living blind, waiting for the only source of corneas from donors after death.
Donating corneas after death is a humanitarian activity that has only developed in recent years. However, in many places, many people do not fully understand the activity of donating corneas, and there are also many major obstacles from people's perceptions, barriers due to customs, beliefs, etc.
