Run For Vision 2009 -- Marathon flagged off by Virender Sehwag

Ashok Mahindru

Run For Vision: In pursuit of my father's dream...

Run for Vision Foundation is a not for profit organization, registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, working towards total eradication of corneal blindness from the country. In 1955, serving and changing lives of less fortunate being close to heart, Late Mr. Y.P. Mahindru chose fighting curable blindness as his core functional area. He set up the foundation with a mission to bring light to those living in darkness due to lack of vision. He motivated likeminded individuals and his entire family to actively participate in his initiatives. 

Ashok Mahindru believes that while we focus on businesses to earn, we should share a part of it by donating. Mahindru Charitable Trust was started to provide regular financial support to a few such organizations selected by his father Late Mr. Y.P. Mahindru. 

RUN FOR VISION belongs to everyone. 

Human beings are mortals. Once life ends the body is of no use. One can pledge eyes and give sight to two unfortunate people who are deprived of sight to see this beautiful world. One just has to first realize the gravity of curable blindness. One can easily do this by closing eyes for just a few minutes. 

Eye donation is the noblest of all causes and people do feel passionate about this cause but fail to convert their feelings into action, either due to lack of awareness or due to unavailability of proper information. Well, to start with, there is no age-limit for donating the eye and we can light the life of two blind people by donating our eyes after our death. All one needs to do is to take a simple pledge to donate the eyes after death.

The foundation along with associated NGOs run charitable eye hospital, ten rural primary eye care centers and North India’s first and largest private eye bank. The initiative has facilitated more than 5,00,000 O.P.Ds, 7500 cataract surgeries, 3000 other surgeries, 255 cornea transplants and 657 eye donations to date. 

Every year the Run for Vision Foundation and Y. P. Mahindru Niramaya Eye Bank organize a series of events to raise awareness about eye donation along with local organizations in Gurgaon/NCR region. These events include Marathons, Walkathons, Carnivals, Mass Contact Programmes, and Seminars in schools, colleges and corporations. The first mass campaign was launched in 2005 and every year thereafter, these have gained further momentum. The results are being reflected in the growing number of corneas being retrieved - 657 from near zero levels, 7 years back. The impact of these mass campaigns can be judged by the following facts of increasing number of eye donations every year: 

2005 

“Netra Daan Chetna Abhiyaan” – Mass Contact Program 

No. of Donations: 30 

2006 

“Sankalp Divas” – Half day seminar 

No. of Donations: 38 

2007 

“Walk For Vision” – Marathon passing through Gurgaon city 

No. of Donations: 72 

2008 

“Sankalp Divas” – Seminars in schools 

No. of Donations: 87 

2009 

“Run For Vision” – Marathon flagged off by Virender Sehwag 

No. of Donations: 151 

2010 

“Walk For Vision” – Blindfold walk that entered in Limca Book of records 

No. of Donations: 165 

2011 

“Walkathon” – 4 KM walk through Gurgaon 

 No. of Donations: 180 

Fact Sheet for Eye Transplant in India

Ø  India – home to world’s largest blind population: 1, 20, 00, 000

–         Cataract:                          55%

–         Refractive Errors:               27%

–         Corneal Blindness:              18%

Ø  80% Of Them Are Fully Curable

–         Cataract:                          CURABLE

–         Refractive Errors:               CURABLE

–         Corneal Blindness:              CURABLE (Through Transplantation of Corneas from Eye Donation)

Ø  But poor Cornea Donation Rate in India:

–         91 Lac deaths annually in India

–         1 donor gives sight to 2 people

–         182 Lac Potential Donations

–         Only 38000 Made Every Year

–         At this rate it will take 112 Years to eradicate blindness

Ø  Hurdles:

–         Lack of awareness on key issues:

·         Curability of corneal blindness

·         Need for eye donation

·         Eye donation avenues and processes

·         Superstition in Donor’s family

–         Lack of infrastructure:

·         Cornea Retrieval

·         Cornea Storage & Processing

·         Cornea Transplantation

“Enlighten someone’s world by donating your eyes” - Ashok Mahindru

                                

Eye Donation - A dark reality

Our country has about 2.1 million people who suffer from Corneal Blindness. They can see if a Cornea transplant is performed. Only source of Corneas for transplant is eye donation, which must be performed with in about 6 hours of death.

Against this, average no. of eye donations in India languishes at about 38,600 per annum implying that even an impossible wait of 112 years will not help most. On the other hand approximately 9 million people die every year and one pair of eyes from a deceased person can be implanted on two blind persons implying a potential of 1 Cr. 80 Lac corneal transplants.

Major cause for this unfortunate situation is lack of awareness among our countrymen about eye donation, its need and life changing impact on entire families of cornea recipients who are able to see this beautiful world again. Therefore, there is an urgent need to raise awareness about eye donation.

“Enlighten someone’s world by donating your eyes” - Ashok Mahindru