Nagpur: RSS Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarini member Sureshrao ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi on Tuesday called for a change in society’s approach to eye and organ donation, saying the body should be seen as a gift from divine power that can be returned to serve society after death.Speaking at the inauguration of the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight at Madhav Netralaya Eye Institute and Research Centre, Joshi said people needed to rethink the meaning of ‘daan’ in organ donation.“We did not create our eyes or liver. These were given to us by divine power. The feeling should be that I am returning this body, which I received from that divine power, so that it can be of use to society,” he said.Joshi said the fortnight could instead be called an “eye donation pledge fortnight” as a person can only pledge during their lifetime. The actual donation takes place after death and depends on the family.“A person may pledge to donate, but ultimately those left behind have to accept and honour that resolve,” he said, stressing the need to create awareness among families.AIIMS Nagpur executive director Dr Prashant Joshi, who chaired the programme, said misconceptions about eye donation persist. Old age, spectacles, cataract, hypertension and diabetes do not necessarily prevent a person from donating eyes, he said.Corneas must be retrieved within six hours of death, he said, adding that transplantation can restore sight to people with corneal diseases.National Eye Donation Fortnight, launched by Union health ministry in 1985, aims to raise awareness and bridge the gap between demand for corneas and their availability, Dr Joshi said. He added that AIIMS Nagpur had carried out 49 corneal retrievals and 32 transplants.‘Netranjali’, an informational booklet of Madhav Netralaya edited by Vandana Varnekar, was released during the programme. Prizes were also given to winners of a reel-making competition on eye donation.An MoU was signed to launch an eye-testing laboratory in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, in the village of former RSS sarsanghachalak Madhukarrao Dattatreya Deoras, popularly known as Balasaheb Deoras. It will be the first such laboratory in the village.
