Male doctor donates mother's cornea to bring light to 2 people

On September 28, the Tissue Bank ( Hanoi Eye Hospital 2) announced that it had just received two corneas from a deceased donor, bringing light to a blind patient.

During the cornea removal process, the boy stood quietly in the corner of the room. Photo: Thuy Duong

The cornea donor was Mrs. LTHM (75 years old, in Hanoi), who passed away at 5:00 a.m. on September 25. The person who called the Tissue Bank to express his wish to donate his mother's cornea was her son - Dr. Nguyen Le Trung, Deputy Head of the Ophthalmology Department, Military Hospital 103 (Hanoi).

Immediately after receiving the call from Dr. Trung, the Tissue Bank team immediately started up and quickly moved to the location to collect and receive the donated corneas.

"During the entire collection process, her son stood quietly observing from a corner of the room. Only when the technicians finished removing the cornea did the son come closer, stroked his mother's head, then hugged her and burst into tears..." - the Tissue Bank staff shared.

Doctor Nguyen Le Trung's mother is Captain LTHM, she used to be an employee of the Pharmacy Department (103 Military Hospital).

Before she died, she expressed her wish to donate her corneas for transplant to blind patients. Dr. Trung's family suppressed the pain of losing a loved one to fulfill her wish.

Soon after, her corneas were successfully transplanted, giving sight to two patients in two different hospitals.

Male doctor hugs mother after her cornea is successfully removed

Previously, at the end of August 2016, female doctor VTT (Head of the Ophthalmology Department of 19-8 Hospital) decided to donate a pair of corneas in her last days in bed. Her wish was to donate all her organs, but the cancer had metastasized so she could only donate a pair of corneas. The source of this female doctor's corneas was transplanted to the patient immediately after.

According to statistics, in 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 old man over 107 years old.

Since the first cornea donation in April 2007 by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa (in Con Thoi, Kim Son, Ninh Binh) who donated her cornea after her death, the country has recorded 963 cornea donors, mainly concentrated in Ninh Binh province (437 donors) and Nam Dinh province (332 donors). To date, more than 20 provinces and cities have had people donate their corneas after their death.

One cornea donor can give sight to two people.

In Vietnam, there are more than 30,000 people who are blind due to corneal diseases and need corneal transplants to regain their sight. However, the number of transplants is very small. Among the patients waiting for corneal transplants, most are in the age group of 30-60, including children.

Corneas are only collected after the donor has passed away. The best time to harvest a cornea is within 6-8 hours after the donor has died.

Anyone can donate their corneas after death, regardless of age or gender. People with poor eyesight and even those with terminal illnesses such as cancer or diabetes can still donate their corneas.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/nam-bac-si-hien-giac-mac-cua-me-de-mang-lai-anh-sang-cho-2-nguoi-17224092817261414.htm