No fewer than 3.64 million Nigerians, representing about 1.5 percent of the country’s population, are currently living with corneal blindness, the Eye Bank for Restoring Sight in Nigeria reported.
The organization also revealed that more than 200 patients are currently on its cornea transplant waiting list, underscoring the urgent need to promote cornea donation and increase public awareness.
The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Eye Bank to Restore Sight in Nigeria, Festus Odunayo Oshoba, revealed this on Thursday at the official launch of Nollywood actress, veteran Joke Silva, as the brand ambassador of the cornea donation and transplantation organisation.
Oshoba said the Eye Bank had facilitated more than 95 successful corneal transplants over the years, including 19 for children aged between 30 months and 18 years.
He added that corneas had also been successfully harvested from two Nigerian donors who had promised to donate their corneas before their deaths in 2010 and 2012.
According to him, the organization is working to develop a national registry that will provide accurate data on Nigerians who have undergone corneal transplantation and those who have regained their sight.
“1.5 percent of the country’s population currently lives with corneal blindness. We have provided about a hundred. We are still trying to collate [the data] have a national registry to know how many have recovered their sight and those who have had transplants,” he said.
Oshoba urged Nigerians to accept cornea donation, stressing that the act could enable a person to regain sight after the death of the donor.
“We need to talk to our people to find out if someone you know could be a beneficiary of the organ you are donating. We have already delayed long enough; now we have to run. That we live for each other is the whole essence of humanity,” he said.
However, he identified cultural, religious and misconceptions around organ harvesting as some of the main challenges facing cornea donation in the country.
He said the organization was particularly concerned about how to facilitate timely corneal recovery in cases where religious practices require the deceased to be buried within a short period.
A beneficiary of the program, Raphael Oguntimi, who regained his sight after a corneal transplant after suffering from an eye ulcer and an infection, recounted his experience.
Oguntimi said he developed blindness after a stroke and initially believed he would have to travel abroad for treatment.
“When my son was searching for a solution on Google, he realized that we could only find a solution in India. Finally, a friend of my son introduced us to a hospital on Victoria Island,” he said.
He said he underwent a corneal transplant in 2022 and began seeing immediately after the procedure.
“At first, I couldn’t see the food I was eating. I couldn’t go to the bathroom without help. But immediately they did the transplant, I could read and walk without any help. No one helps me do anything. I am grateful to God,” Oguntimi said.
He expressed his gratitude to the Eye Bank for facilitating access to the donated cornea, which came from abroad.
Also speaking was Lion Kunle Ola Shodipo, whose brother became one of Nigeria’s first cornea donors after his death in 2010, and told how his family decided to honor the deceased’s promise.
Shodipo said his brother had been murdered in Dopemu, Lagos, and was later informed by the family’s lawyer that he had agreed to donate his corneas.
“The process lasted less than 15 minutes, that’s when I realized that what they were removing was not the entire eyeball but the black spot on my eye,” he said.
Shodipo said he was proud that, despite his brother’s death, his decision to donate had allowed someone else to benefit.
The Vice President of the Eye Bank, Fola Akande, urged recipients of cornea donation to share their experiences to encourage more Nigerians to become donors.
“In the face of death we remain relevant. It is important to give so that someone else can live. Don’t let your sight die with your death,” he said.
Introducing Silva as the organization’s brand ambassador, the Eye Bank said her participation would strengthen public awareness and promotion campaigns on cornea donation.
Silva pledged to use his platform to promote the cause and challenge misconceptions about organ and eye donation.
READ ALSO: Sanwo-Olu gifts N20 million to top two LASU graduating students
“I am going to expand what has been done. There will be continuous promotion and awareness,” he said.
According to the actress, cultural beliefs and misconceptions about removing body parts after death have contributed to resistance to organ donation.
He said Nigeria, with a population of more than 200 million people, should develop the capacity to meet its own corneal tissue needs rather than relying heavily on foreign sources.
“The doctor cannot do it alone. There is advocacy where people need to be aware. Advocacy is so important for Nigeria to do what Nigeria can do for Nigerians,” Silva said.
“We need to stop depending on the rest of the world. We are more than 200 million people. Why should we depend on what we can do for ourselves?”
He urged Nigerians to consider cornea donation as a way to help others after death, noting that donation does not prevent families from giving their deceased loved ones a dignified burial.
Represented at the event, the Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Hospital (LASUTH), Professor Tokunbo Fabanwo, encouraged the general public to embrace the initiative and urged the newly introduced ambassador to leverage her good name and brand to promote cornea donation.
WATCH THE BEST VIDEOS FROM Newslodge TV