The Ministry of Health honours the noble gesture of families of cornea donors in Kim Sơn District, Ninh Bình Province on January 5. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam recorded 45,000 people registering to donate corneas in the past 16 years, of which 963 people donated corneas after death in 20 provinces and cities.

In Ninh Bình Province alone, there are 437 donors, of which Kim Sơn District is the leading locality with 427 donors.

“This is a huge contribution of Kim Sơn people in particular and Ninh Bình Province in general in the cause of people's health care. Thanks to this source of donated corneas, many people have received corneal transplants and returned to normal working life," said Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I would like to warmly praise and thank the families who have donated corneas, those who have donated a part of their bodies to bring light to the living,” added Thuấn.

Thuấn was speaking at a ceremony to honour the noble gesture of families of cornea donors in Kim Sơn District, Ninh Bình Province on January 5.

The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Health and the National Eye Hospital in coordination with the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Ninh Bình Province and Kim Sơn District.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyễn Tuấn Hưng, Deputy Director of the Department of Personnel Organization, Ministry of Health, concurrently in charge of managing and operating the National Eye Hospital, said that the event had been organised annually by the Central Eye Hospital since 2007, since Việt Nam had the first person volunteering in Kim Sơn District, Ninh Bình to donate a cornea after death, opening up opportunities for hundreds of thousands of blind people to regain their sight.

In April 2007, Nguyễn Thị Hoa in Kim Sơn District, Ninh Bình Province, donated her cornea after her death. With her noble heart and gesture, Hoa has become a shining example of a pioneer, promoting the development and spread of the cornea donation movement throughout the country. Following the example of Hoa, the people of Kim Sơn District have created a cornea donation movement throughout the region and the whole province.

In addition, the cornea donation movement in the Kim Sơn District community has encouraged and formed a network of collaborators and volunteers to enthusiastically participate in communication on cornea donation, which raises awareness in the community about eye care and protection in general as well as about issues related to corneal donation and corneal diseases in particular.

Tô Thị Thắm received two corneal transplants from donors in Ninh Bình Province. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

Suffering from corneal disease at the age of 12, Tô Thị Thắm has received two corneal transplants from donors in Ninh Bình Province in 2019 and 2020.

"I would like to thank the families who donated corneas to people with corneal diseases like me. I hope that this noble gesture will spread widely, helping more people see the light again,” said Thắm.

Hưng said that from the example of the cornea donation movement in Kim Sơn District, people in other localities responded nationwide, with more localities having cornea donors, such as Hà Nội, Thanh Hóa, Hòa Bình, Nam Định, Nghệ An, Quảng Ninh, Hà Nam, Vĩnh Phúc, Bắc Giang, Thái Bình and Bắc Ninh.

In 2009, the National Eye Hospital took the lead in building the National Eye Bank, building a cornea donation campaign. That was one of the important activities to obtain domestic sources of corneas for transplants for patients. To date, the health sector recorded 45,000 people registering to donate corneas in the past 16 years, of which 963 people donated corneas after death in 20 provinces and cities.

Corneal transplant surgery is the only method in the world today that brings light to people that are blind due to corneal diseases. It is estimated that Việt Nam currently has over 30,000 people who are blind due to corneal diseases and need corneal transplant surgery to regain sight, according to Hưng.

At the National Eye Hospital, the list of people registered for corneal transplants is nearly 1,000 people. Although corneal transplant surgery in Việt Nam is at an advanced level, due to the extremely scarce source of corneas, the amount of corneal donation in recent times has only met a very small number compared to actual needs. Therefore, thousands of patients are having to accept living with blindness, waiting for the only source of corneas from donors after death. — VNS