Sight is worth giving away
Three things anyone can do: pledge your eyes, fund one person's surgery, or help a screening camp reach a village that has never had one.
Corneal blindness is one of the few kinds that can be reversed
A large number of people in India cannot see because of corneal scarring — from injury, infection, chemical burns or keratoconus. Their retina and optic nerve work perfectly. The only thing between them and sight is a clear cornea, and the only source of a cornea is a person who chose to donate one.
India performs far fewer corneal transplants each year than it needs, and the shortfall is not surgical capacity. It is donation. Every pledge is one more household where the conversation has already been had before it becomes urgent.
Eye donation costs a family nothing, disfigures nothing and delays nothing. The retrieval takes a few minutes and is done at the place of death, including at home.
What you can actually do
Pledge your eyes
Register your intent to donate your corneas after death. It takes a few minutes, costs nothing, and — most importantly — tells your family what you wanted, so they are not deciding it at the worst possible moment.
Sponsor a package
Fund the full cost of treatment for a patient who cannot afford it — most often cataract surgery for an older person whose sight is limiting their livelihood. Sponsors receive a certificate of appreciation and, where the patient consents, a note on the outcome.
Support a community camp
Our camps screen villages and small towns for cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, and bring anyone needing surgery to hospital. Supporting a camp funds the screening, the transport and the surgery that follows.
Who can donate — the answer is almost everyone
Most people rule themselves out for reasons that are not actually disqualifying. Here is what really matters.
- Spectacle wearers can donateShort sight, long sight and astigmatism live in the shape of the eye, not in the clarity of the cornea. Having worn glasses all your life disqualifies nothing.
- People with diabetes can donateDiabetes affects the retina, not usually the cornea. Diabetic donors are accepted, and their corneas restore sight like anyone else's.
- Age is almost never a barrierCorneas from donors in their eighties are used successfully. There is no upper age limit worth worrying about.
- Cataract surgery in the past is fineA previously operated eye can still donate a usable cornea. So can someone with high blood pressure, asthma or most chronic conditions.
- A few conditions do rule it outActive infection at the time of death, HIV, hepatitis B or C, rabies, septicaemia, leukaemia and certain neurological diseases. The eye bank screens for all of this — the family does not need to work it out.
- What the family should doCall as soon as possible after death — corneas must be retrieved within a few hours. Switch off fans directed at the face, close the eyelids, raise the head slightly and place a damp cloth over the eyes.
How to register as a donor
The pledge itself is not legally binding on your family — which is exactly why telling them matters more than the form.
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Ask for a pledge form
At the reception of any MediVision centre, or by calling +91 90001 80035. It takes a few minutes and asks for very little.
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Tell your family, out loud
The single most useful thing you can do. At the time of death the decision is made by whoever is present, and a pledge card in a drawer helps far less than a conversation they remember.
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Keep the card, and note the number
Save the eye bank number in the phones of the people most likely to be with you. Retrieval is time-critical, and a search for the right number costs hours nobody has.
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When the time comes, call immediately
A trained team travels to the place of death, at home or in hospital, at any hour. The retrieval takes minutes, leaves no visible change to the face, and does not delay any funeral arrangement.
What sponsoring a package covers
The whole episode, not a part of it
Consultation, investigations, the procedure, the intraocular lens, medicines and follow-up reviews. A sponsorship that stops before follow-up is not much use to the patient.
A certificate of appreciation
Issued to every sponsor. Where the patient agrees, we also share how the surgery went — with their identity protected unless they want otherwise.
Full transparency on the money
You are told the exact package cost before you commit, and what it covers. We do not bundle in overheads.
Sponsor one person or a camp
Individuals typically sponsor a single cataract surgery. Companies and trusts often fund an entire camp, from village screening through to the surgeries it identifies.
Questions patients ask us
Can I donate my eyes if I wear glasses?
Yes. Refractive error — short sight, long sight, astigmatism — comes from the shape and length of the eye, not from the cornea. Spectacle wearers are accepted as donors.
Can a person with diabetes donate their eyes?
Yes. Diabetes primarily affects the retina and blood vessels; the cornea is usually unaffected and remains usable. Diabetic donors are routinely accepted.
Is there an age limit for eye donation?
Not in any practical sense. Corneas from donors in their eighties and beyond have restored sight successfully. Do not rule yourself or a relative out on age.
Does eye donation disfigure the face?
No. Retrieval takes a few minutes, there is no visible change to the face afterwards, and no funeral or religious arrangement is delayed by it.
How quickly must the eyes be donated after death?
Within a few hours — the sooner the better. Call the eye bank immediately, switch off any fan blowing on the face, close the eyelids, raise the head slightly and place a damp cloth over the eyes until the team arrives.
What does sponsoring a package cost and cover?
The cost depends on the procedure — most sponsorships fund a cataract surgery. It covers the consultation, investigations, the surgery, the lens, medicines and follow-up visits. You are told the exact figure and what it includes before you commit, and you receive a certificate of appreciation afterwards.
Where do your community eye camps run?
Across the districts our centres serve — most regularly around Badvel in Kadapa district, and in the areas around Nalgonda and Warangal. Anyone found to need surgery is brought to hospital, with transport arranged where that is the barrier.
Pledge, sponsor or support a camp
Call us, message us, or ask at the reception of any MediVision centre. All three take less time than you think.