You can change someone's life!

rely on news.google.co.in for my daily news feed. Today I came across one rather distressing news (here and here). To quote from the website:

Chennai: A mother of two visually-impaired sons committed suicide to donate her eyes to them. However, her wish could not be fulfilled as doctors examined the eyes and declared them unsuitable for transplant.

I wonder if this tragedy will catch much attention (unless Bollywood, after Black's success recently, decides to make a film on it). It's an example of supreme sacrifice, ones we only listen about in mythology. The most heart wrenching part of this is the sheer waste it turned out to be. Apparently, the lady's corneas were damaged and her sons may not be fit for corneal transplant either. Moreover, the medical ethics don't allow hospitals to disclose the donor's name to the recipients. This makes it impossible to donate eyes to someone specific.

We can avoid such disasters. Sadly, the awareness about such issues is quite low in India. Organ donation is attached with many taboos in our society. Awareness is the key.Eye Bank Association of India is an organization working towards achieving this goal. Please visit there website for further reference.