MANILA, Philippines — The end of a young life paved the way for the continuation of another life who received the gift of vision from the former through corneal transplantation.
Eight-year-old John Daniel de los Santos is an intelligent little kid who has always amazed his parents with his happy disposition, despite his condition. John had corneal ulcer on one eye, an open sore on the cornea, the transparent part of the eye which covers the iris, the colored part of the eye which is caused by bacterial infections.
“John acquired corneal cancer when he was two months old. Last year, his doctor said he could go for an operation that could restore his sight. We went to an eye bank and in April of this year, the doctor told us that we already have a donor,” Sarah delos Santos, John’s mother, told the media in a conference Wednesday.
The donor is the late young actor AJ Perez who is now the new poster boy of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines. Since Perez’s demise early this year, his parents have joined the eye bank’s new campaign “A vision to live on,” a campaign to encourage Filipinos to commit their corneas to the foundation and give the gift of eyesight to recipients.
A cornea is harvested from a cadaver within 12 hours after death.
The most common indications for corneal transplantation in the Philippines are infections, scars from such causes as corneal damage after eye surgery, genetic conditions that cause gradual damage to the cornea due to abnormal deposition of substances in the body or due to the gradual structural damage to the cornea; and abnormalities of shape of the cornea.
Dr. Ma. Minguita Padilla, Eyebank Foundation president and chairperson, said this year, 446 Filipinos have donated their corneas to the foundation.
“If the single donation of AJ Perez served to benefit two others, then more donors could help a vast more number of Filipinos who could yet have their sight restored,” Padilla said.
Former street sweeper Celia Avila, 62, also benefitted from a cornea donated by an anonymous donor. “Let us not be selfish with our cornea. It would be better if we could donate our cornea because someone else could receive the gift of sight.”
The eye bank distributes some 800 to 1,000 eye tissues for transplant and research a year. Fifty-two percent of patients in the Philippines who need corneal transplants are charity patients who are subsidized by the foundation.
SOURCE: MANILA BULLETIN
http://manila-bulletin.net/blog/2011/08/25/late-actor-lives-on-in-kid-who-received-his-cornea/
Eight-year-old John Daniel de los Santos is an intelligent little kid who has always amazed his parents with his happy disposition, despite his condition. John had corneal ulcer on one eye, an open sore on the cornea, the transparent part of the eye which covers the iris, the colored part of the eye which is caused by bacterial infections.
“John acquired corneal cancer when he was two months old. Last year, his doctor said he could go for an operation that could restore his sight. We went to an eye bank and in April of this year, the doctor told us that we already have a donor,” Sarah delos Santos, John’s mother, told the media in a conference Wednesday.
The donor is the late young actor AJ Perez who is now the new poster boy of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines. Since Perez’s demise early this year, his parents have joined the eye bank’s new campaign “A vision to live on,” a campaign to encourage Filipinos to commit their corneas to the foundation and give the gift of eyesight to recipients.
A cornea is harvested from a cadaver within 12 hours after death.
The most common indications for corneal transplantation in the Philippines are infections, scars from such causes as corneal damage after eye surgery, genetic conditions that cause gradual damage to the cornea due to abnormal deposition of substances in the body or due to the gradual structural damage to the cornea; and abnormalities of shape of the cornea.
Dr. Ma. Minguita Padilla, Eyebank Foundation president and chairperson, said this year, 446 Filipinos have donated their corneas to the foundation.
“If the single donation of AJ Perez served to benefit two others, then more donors could help a vast more number of Filipinos who could yet have their sight restored,” Padilla said.
Former street sweeper Celia Avila, 62, also benefitted from a cornea donated by an anonymous donor. “Let us not be selfish with our cornea. It would be better if we could donate our cornea because someone else could receive the gift of sight.”
The eye bank distributes some 800 to 1,000 eye tissues for transplant and research a year. Fifty-two percent of patients in the Philippines who need corneal transplants are charity patients who are subsidized by the foundation.
SOURCE: MANILA BULLETIN
http://manila-bulletin.net/blog/2011/08/25/late-actor-lives-on-in-kid-who-received-his-cornea/
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