David said the gift of donating the cornea and any organ would be “transformative and extremely important,” and would encourage people not to feel squealed about it.
“The initial silence and hesitation to donate Conea can be understood as a reluctance to donate the cornea as it is one organ of our body that is actually visualisable and puns are not intended and can be seen.
“People can be very emotional and emotional about it,” he said.
“Giving someone a chance to see clearly again and letting them visualize what is around them is just as life-changing as any other organ donation,” he said.
According to the NHS Blood and Transplantation (NHSBT), the cornea is the most common organ or tissue that people choose not to donate.
When you register a donation decision, 81% of people choose to donate all their organs and tissues.
Approximately 19% choose to specify/limit which organs or tissues are available. Of these, 63% choose not to donate the cornea.
This is limited to 11.5% of all donor registrations.
The impact of the new opt-out organ donation rules in Northern Ireland since June will have on corneal donation rates.
Dimple Patel said corneal transplants are one of the most performed grafts in the UK and around the world, and are performed weekly at Belfast Trust.
