National Voluntary Blood and Posthumous Eye Donation Day tomorrow
NN ONLINE:
The National Voluntary Blood and Posthumous Eye Donation Day will be observed across Bangladesh tomorrow under the initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Sandhani Central Council, and Sandhani National Eye Donation Society.
This year’s theme of the day is “Roktodane Hoy Na Khoti, Chokh Chhuye Jak Chokher Jyoti” (Blood donation does no harm, Let one’s eyes touch another’s vision).
‘Sandhani’ is the pioneer of the voluntary blood and eye donation movement in Bangladesh. Alongside blood donation, the organization also functions as a human eye bank, encouraging people to pledge to donate their eyes after death so others may regain sight.
On November 2, 1978, Sandhani organized its first voluntary blood donation programme at the DMCH Blood Bank. In 1995, to commemorate this milestone, the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia declared November 2 as National Voluntary Blood and Posthumous Eye Donation Day.
Dr. Mohammad Monir Hossain, General Secretary of Sandhani National Eye Donation Society, said blindness remains one of the major health problems in Bangladesh. A blind person often becomes a burden on their family, society, and the nation, he said.
He said there are about 14 lakh blind people in Bangladesh, of whom around 500,000 are cornea-blind, with another 40,000 added each year.
Sandhani National Eye Donation Society is the only institution in the country responsible for collecting, preserving, and supplying corneas, he added.
Since its establishment in 1984, Sandhani National Eye Donation Society has collected 4,188 corneas and restored the eyesight of 3,525 individuals, said Monir Hossain.
He added that since its inception, the organization has been collecting corneas from pledged donors and unclaimed deceased persons.
All corneas transplanted in Bangladesh to date have been collected through Sandhani, he said adding that when one person’s cornea is transplanted into the eye of a cornea-blind person, that individual regains sight-this fact was first introduced to the nation by Sandhani.
If this message can be spread among the country’s 18 crore people, the task will become much easier, and Bangladesh could set a global example through corneal transplantation, he said.
In observance of the day, a procession will be brought out from the Central Shaheed Minar at 8am tomorrow and end on the premises of the Super Specialized Hospital of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU).
The inaugural ceremony of the National Voluntary Blood and Posthumous Eye Donation Day will be held at 9:00 am at the lecture hall of Super Specialized Hospital of BMU.
Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant for the Health and Family Welfare Ministry Professor Dr. Md. Sayedur Rahman will attend the ceremony as the chief guest.
Health Services Division and Medical Education and Family Welfare Division Secretary Md. Saidur Rahman will chair the event while President of Sandhani National Eye Donation Society Professor Dr. Md. Fazlul Haque Kashem will deliver welcome address.