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Dec 6, 2014

Dera Sacha Sauda- A Beacon of Hope for Gurdaspur Eye Victims

There is a ray of hope for all the 18 people, facing stark blindness, after eye surgery for cataract removal went horribly wrong at a charity eye camp in Punjab's Gurdaspur District. Country's second largest eye bank, being run by Dera Sacha Sauda in Haryana's Sirsa District, has offered to provide corneas immediately at no cost to the victims of botched surgeries at the camp. Dr. Aditya Insan, an eminent eye surgeon himself, who is also spokesperson at the Dera said, "Apparently, there has been a serious damage made to the cornea itself of the patients. It seems that the infection in the eye has damaged it badly so it is not even possible to remove the pus without completely damaging the eye. With damaged cornea, a corneal transplant is the only way out to restore their vision. We are making corneas available for these patients immediately and without charges. An expert surgical team is also available at all times." Dera Sacha Sauda has an enviable record of eye donations, especially since the eye donation movement is being spearheaded. This initiative was run by the Dera head, Revered Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, who has been the source of motivation for the people to donate their organs. The Dera's eye bank has been making inroads in areas tough to access, including Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, when floods inundated the Kashmir valley, Dera Sacha Sauda's eye bank teamed up with doctors at the Sher E Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar to provide corneas at no cost. With the directions and blessings of His Holiness Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan 7 corneas were airlifted and out of these 5 were used to restore the sight of patients in the valley. This was the first time that corneal transplants were done in the valley. Not just corneas are made readily available at Pujaniya Mata Kartar Kaur ji International Eye Bank, but innovative techniques are also utilized to minimise tissue wastage. "About 60% of corneal tissue is wasted but we have done ground breaking research and have come up with innovative techniques to minimise tissue wastage, "said Dr. Aditya Insan. More than 9000 pairs of eyes have been donated at the Dera's eye bank and out of these nearly 3000 have been transplanted to give sight to the people. The movement of eye donation has become so strong that over 1 lakh 18 thousand people have pledged to donate their eyes. Dera Sacha Sauda's selfless offer to provide corneas without charges at short notice is a blessing for the victims, who cannot afford to arrange corneas by any means.