Organ Donation

A new leaflet is being launched to help boost the number of sight-saving cornea transplant operations carried out in the UK.

The leaflet, Cornea donation. The gift of sight, has been completely redesigned to inform people better about cornea transplantation and make it easier for them to pledge to donate corneas and other organs by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

The leaflet features case studies of NHS patients whose lives have been transformed by cornea transplants made possible by the generosity of cornea donors.

One of the studies is centred on careers advisor Ashley Bell. Rapidly developing cornea disease resulted in almost total blindness in a few short months for Ashley. She was 30 years old and loving her job as a careers advisor. Now, after two cornea transplants, Ashley has her sight back.

Ashley says in the leaflet: "The difference is incredible. I am immensely grateful to the donors and their families. Their gifts have meant all the world to me and I thank them for their bravery and kindness."

Produced by NHS UK Transplant, the leaflet is now available at eight special eye hospitals and via the NHS Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400.

Cornea transplant surgeon Mr Peter McDonnell described the new leaflet as a major boost for cornea transplantation which would not only enable many more people to have their sight restored or improved but also help people fulfil their wish to donate.

Mr McDonnell, of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, and Chairman of NHS UK Transplant's Ocular Tissue Advisory Group, said: "A transplanted cornea can make almost as dramatic an improvement to the life of the recipient as some of the major organs.

"The NHS has the capacity to perform more of these vital operations but the shortage of donated corneas limits the number of patients we can help. We hope this new leaflet will lead to more people pledging to leave the gift of sight."

The cornea donation campaign, which has been supported by Rotary International in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the past 20 years, encourages volunteers to promote cornea donation in their local communities.

Secretary for the Rotary Cornea & Tissue Bank Campaign Committee, Mr John Massie, said: "We will be asking Clubs to encourage local services such as opticians, pharmacies and dentists to make the leaflets available to their customers to help increase opportunities for them to join the Organ Donor Register and inform their relatives of their wishes towards donation.

"Rotary's contacts in the community have already helped bring this life-saving subject to the attention of thousands of people and, with a national shortage of organs and tissue, our involvement is every bit as important today."

The eight hospitals are designated as special eye retrieval centres with £70,000 annual funding from NHS UK Transplant, the health authority responsible for matching and allocating corneas and organs donated for transplant.

The funding will pay for cornea retrieval staff in each centre who will be responsible for approaching relatives and retrieving donated corneas in their local areas. Each centre will aim to provide 450 corneas for transplant across the country.

Last year (April 2003–March 2004) a total of 2,365 cornea transplants - the highest number for six years - were performed in the UK thanks to tissue donated by 1,873 donors.

The cornea is the clear tissue at the front of the eye that lets in light and helps focus it on the retina so that we can see. Disease or injury can make the cornea cloudy or distorted in shape, causing loss of vision.

A cornea transplant replaces the damaged cornea with a disc of healthy tissue from a donor. The procedure is straightforward, usually takes about one or two hours to complete and is extremely successful, with 90% of grafts still functioning after the critical first year.

People can register their wish to donate corneas for transplant - and their organs - on the NHS Organ Donor Register by calling the Organ Donor Line on 0845 60 60 400 or visiting www.uktransplant.org.uk

For more information call UK Transplant Communications on (0117) 975 7477

The eight eye retrieval centres are based at:

• Bristol: United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust
• Bolton: Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust
• East Grinstead: Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Exeter: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital Trust
• Middlesbrough: The James Cook University Hospital.
• Newcastle: Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust
• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust
• Nottingham: Queens Medical Centre Nottingham University NHS Trust