graft waiting lists

[sarah.w]

brilliant stuff, yeah when i spoke to the organ donor people they only had generic leaflets left. The radio station sounds a great idea too fingers crossed this will help boost some much needed awreness! i will contact the local papers and will try the national ones too if i can!

well done anne and lou xx

[GarethB]

Since my graffts I've taken part in many promotional events for organ doantion and I have found people are willing to donate all but their corneas.

When I have asked why they are happy to donate a heart or lung, why won't ehy donate their eyes?

The answers I get is that they don't see donating eyes as life saving and the other is that the eye is seen as the window to the soul. You can change people minds on the life saving because you just have to mention that mnay of us have suffered severe depression due to loss of vision and the dangers of crossing the road, you don't see the car and you can be killed. A new cornea can be as life changing as a new heart.

The window of the soul is another matter, even for those who have no strong religious beliefs.

Despite this I'll still be taking part in the organ donation promotional events in my area.

[Loopy-Lou]

You raise good points Gareth which need to addressed.
Part of the problem from talking with people is this; people don’t know where the cornea is located, what it’s function is, why eyes are donated and what they are used for i.e. just the cornea, we don’t walk around with someone else’s entire eyeball. Most people are [understandably] very squeamish about eyes and the thought of having them removed is scary. What I do is point out that removal of two little globes is less horror film-like than removal of heart/lungs which means sawing through the ribcage and pulling the whole chest cavity open. Although it states in much Keratoconus literature that the condition doesn’t usually lead to blindness this is not entirely accurate as some of us can have periods of difficulty before grafting that we are legally blind or partially sighted for periods of time. So cornea transplants literally can mean the difference between seeing and not seeing. In some countries where cornea transplants are not readily available advanced Keratoconus can mean being legally blind/partially sighted permamently. I think people also assume removal of eyes will mean being disfigured and that they won’t be ‘viewable’ for relatives at the undertakers but the space left can be filled and as eyes are shut anyhow relatives really wouldn’t know any difference, just as clothing would conceal the scarring of removal of a liver.
I think the myths and fears can be dispelled if we talk openly about them and that’s what I’m doing, at bus stops, at the gym, anywhere. The response has been really positive with people saying ‘where do I sign up?’ Sometimes I think personal word of mouth is as effective as any organised campaign, but equally I do feel we need to be more organised