To be able to go lost in wonder watching the sky change its colours on a peaceful morning sunrise - the jet black of the night getting tinged with grey, then gradually dimming into blue and in due time, a glorious white...

To be able to watch little droplets of rain tracing an unknown design on a closed glass window, admiring nature as it washes itself ...

To be able to lie down on the floor, doing pretty much nothing but watching a long line of ants proceeding on their disciplined way of work...

To be able to see someone cook up a tasty dish, the eyes often having fully tasted the food long before it hits one's mouth…

22 days away from iLand. Crazy hours of work, a dozen different deadlines, yelling matches (giving as well as on the receiving end), midnight cabbies, early morning wake-up alarms, documents & spreadsheets, evil bosses, and enough coffees to last a lifetime. But none of those ever prevented any one with their heart (and hopefully, the rest of the body too) in their right place in doing a good deed. And when the deed in question involves something as noble as donating ones' eyes to someone less privileged so that they may serve someone in appreciating the many beautiful sights that the world offers, so much prompter is the spur to action.

I've been tagged! My close pal Udita (who is better known on iLand under a nondescript  and highly secret identity called ‘UC’) ran this post on her space urging people to donate their eyes. To spread the good word, the post is being tagged from one iLander to another, spurring more and more people to get informed about eye-donation, and the ways/ means on how one could do it. The procedures are simple, and the post has an embedded link to a website ("lightaneye") that gives a list of all the hospitals in your area where the corneal operation could be done.

Some of us don't need TV spots with Aishwarya Rai and her green eyes to tell us how beautiful it is to donate them, so that they may serve our turn long after we are gone. Go on friend, go make a gift to someone who'd treasure it for a lifetime to come.

((Those who wish to carry this post on their iLands, begin here. From my end, I tag Trishna, Ash & Prabhu))

Here's Udita giving the gyaan:

"What a Wonderful World"

-Louis Armstrong

“ I see trees of green, red roses too
 I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
 The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
 And I think to myself, what a wonderful world”

The soulful rendering of this song evokes vivid images of a vibrant, colourful world. Ever wondered how a sightless person would react to this song? How would he visualize the host of golden Daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze, flash upon that inward eye, which was the  bliss of solitude for Wordsworth?! What a dark, dreary world with everything dyed in monochrome- BLACK !! And yet, those of us who are fortunate enough to be blessed with the miracle of sight, do precious little to restore this gift to our less fortunate brethren, snug in the comfort of our cocooned lives! Here are a few facts about corneal blindness.

FACTSHEET

Ø      Corneal blindness mostly affects children

Ø      Corneal blindness can be cured only by corneal grafting from a donated eye

Ø      One can pledge to donate eyes during one’s lifetime

Ø      Eyes can be donated only after death

Ø      If not pledged, eye donation can be done with the consent of relatives

Ø      People of all age groups can donate eyes

Ø      In India, there is a requirement of about 1 lakh corneas per year, whereas only 30,000 are donated

Ø      This shortfall can easily be bridged by spreading awareness about eye donation

HOW WE CAN HELP

Spread the good word around- most of us are not aware how a little effort on our part can light up someone’s life!

In the unfortunate event of death of an acquaintance, try to persuade the family to donate the eyes. This is the toughest part, considering the sensitivity of the situation, but if the family can be convinced that

• the eyes of the donor will live on after him,
• giving sight to two persons for a lifetime, and
• that the procedure of removal is free of cost, simple, hassle-free, & does not cause any disfigurement to the body,

it is quite likely they would agree. So here’s the real test of your persuasive skills! Once you have their consent, here’s what you need to do next.

      Call the nearest eye bank immediately. For Delhi, dial 1919 ( 24 hr-MTNL Toll-free service).Telephone  numbers of eye banks in other cities are available on the website www.lightaneye.org.

      Switch off all fans in the room- cooler or AC, if available, can run.

      Wrap some ice cubes in damp cotton, & keep them on the eyes. This  prevents the tissue from drying up, & helps keep it fesh.

      Keep the head slightly raised with a pillow.

      Doctor/technician from the eye bank will reach the venue within the shortest possible time, collect about 10 ml blood, and remove the corneas, all in 15 minutes.

      Eyes are fit for retrieval upto 6 hours after death.

      Remember, donated corneas are never sold/traded.

The Govt of India is also organizing National Eye Donation Fortnight from August 25 to Sept 8, 2007 to highlight the cause. Friends, where there’s a will, there’s definitely a way……..come, let us all join hands to eliminate the scourge of corneal blindness from the face of our country, and help everyone relish the rainbow hues that you and I take for granted!