Twelve “foreign corneas” come, bringing “brightness to my son”
Yangyang has been waiting for the cornea for four years to restore his sight.
West China Metropolis Daily: Twelve corneas from Sri Lanka International Eye Bank arrived in Chengdu in the afternoon of 27th, and 4 domestic patients had cornea operation that day. "The patients can leave the hospital with recovered sight in a week if the operation succeeds.” The surgeon said, the subsequent corneas will be arranged in operations according to appointments and patient condition as soon as possible.
Additionally, Sri Lanka International Eye Bank has signed MOU for Strategic Cooperation with the counterpart of Chengdu in 2013. The both sides have agreed that the Sri Lanka International Eye will donate at least 500 corneas to Sichuan annually.
Reported by West China Metropolis Daily (Journalist Xiong Haoran, Photographer Wu Xiaochuan, Intern Zhang Shiyu), twelve corneas from Sri Lanka International Eye Bank arrived in Chengdu at 1 p.m. yesterday, which has been the maximum foreign cornea donation according to Health Department of Sichuan Province.
The 12-year-old Yangyang (alias) has got “viral infected leukoma” on his right eye from childhood. He can only feel the light and color once his left eye closes. In this condition, he can only be cured by the corneal transplantation. Because of the disease, Yangyang cannot play with classmates to avoid accidentally injure, or participate the cleaning in school. He hardly has any friends as a Grade 6 student. Yangyang has been waiting for the cornea for four year to recover his sight.(Reported by West China Metropolis Daily the day before yesterday)
Aidi Eye Hospital started to prepare the operation once the cornea arrived in at half past two yesterday afternoon. At 4 p.m., Yangyang entered the operating room. One and a half hours later, the hospital announced Yangyang’s operation was successful, and his right eye could regain the sight in one week if no other accident. There were another three cornea disease patients who have adopted the “foreign cornea” by operation that day. Therefore, four patients have accepted the operation as soon as possible when the corneas were sent to Aidi Eye Hospital directly since landing.
This batch of 12 corneas started from Sri Lanka on February 26th, and arrived in Chengdu Shuangliu Airport via Hong Kong at 1:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Carrying the white thermostat storing the twelve corneas, the staff has taken ambulance to the hospital when they stepped out of the airport.
The corneas were sent to the eye bank once they arrived in Aidi Eye Hospital at about half past two in the afternoon. Yangyang was arranged as the first patient to have the transplantation operation. With smile on the face since the news announce, he seemed very happy before the operation because he maybe knew he would be cured very soon. His mother, Yang Guirong was “weeping for joy” as standing besides him. “I am too delightful and too excited. Having been waiting for four years, we finally have the cornea now as well as my son’s bright.”
Yangyang was wheeled into the operating room 4 p.m., and the surgeon Kang Qian announced “Yangyang’s operation has been succeeded, and he can leave the hospital in recovery in one week if no accident happens” at five twenty-five in the afternoon.
The present biggest cornea bank in the world – Sri Lanka International Eye Bank – signed a MOU for Strategic Cooperation with Aidi Eye Hospital in Chengdu last September, and both sides made an appointment that Sri Lanka International Eye Bank will donate corneas to Sichuan in priority in any possible condition. Janath Saman Matara Arachchi, manager of the eye bank, said “We will donate at least 500 corneas to Sichuan every year.”
This batch of twelve corneas arriving in Chengdu yesterday is the first donation from Sri Lanka after the MOU for Strategic Cooperation has been signed, and it has also been the maximum foreign cornea donation to Sichuan till now.
From his interpreter, S.K. Walakuluge, the Consul of Sri Lankan to Chengdu, expressed he wanted to thanks the departments of health quarantine, customs and other related departments for their giant endeavor for the donation, “It is said that a straight flight will be opened between Chengdu and Sri Lanka, so our corneas can be sent to patients in Sichuan faster at that time.”
Yangyang’s surgeon Kang Qian said, corneas will be extracted within 6 to 10 hours after the donor’s death, which will be put in particular preserving fluid immediately and stored in the isoperibol of 4℃, “A cornea can be stored for half a year in 20℃ below zero, and it can be stored more than one year by liquid nitrogen cooling.” As the cornea transplantation surgeon in Aidi Eye Hospital, Kang Qian said, one cornea may bring brightness for multiple patients depending on different actual conditions.
After all the transplanted cornea is not from the patient, there will be an anti-rejection procedure after the cornea transplantation operation, “there has been no evidence that the rejection will be increased if a Chinese adopts a foreigner’s cornea, so it should be worried.” Sri Lanka corneas have brought back the brightness of thousands of patients in the world.
As a great world-famous nation for cornea donations, there are thousands of people in Sri Lanka donate their corneas voluntarily annually at the present. Tens of thousands of patients in 114 cities in 57 countries regain their brightness by Sri Lanka corneas.
S.K. Walakuluge said, all this has rooted in a proposal after death cornea donation initiated in 1950s by Dr. Hudson Silva, a famous Sri Lankan doctor. “According to my information, it didn't go smoothly at the beginning, it took a very long time to gather the first cornea, and Dr. Hudson Silva stored it in a refrigerator temporarily."" S.K. Walakuluge said, donors became getting more encouragement and support of government, “Contrasting the religious believers and prisoners at the beginning, more and more ordinary people has participated gradually.”
Now, cornea donation has become a culture for Sri Lankan that is handed down from generation to generation. “I have also signed a donation agreement, and I will donate my corneas after my death.” said S.K. Walakuluge.
