Help Treat Blindness In India

Help pay for vision-saving corneal transplants for people with treatable blindness in India. You helped us provide 14 corneal transplants thus far! Help us fund 6 more transplants to reach our goal of providing 20 vision-saving procedures !

In developing countries, blindness means much more than not being able to see. Blind children are often left to sit at home all day or to beg on the streets. Mothers and fathers with blindness cannot work to support their families. Instead of going to school, grandchildren serve as 'seeing eye children' to help their blind grandparents with daily life. For many of these people whose blindness is treatable, they simply do not have access to the treatment they need and so remain blind for their entire lives.

SightLife trains surgeons and partners with cornea banks in developing countries to help restore sight for people with this neglected but treatable form of blindness. Last year alone, more than 25,000 people around the world had their sight restored through SightLife programs. With their sight restored, these men, women, and children can now go to school, earn a living to support their families, and simply be a part of their community as they choose.

You can help. Just $135.00 provides a vision-saving procedure for a person with treatable blindness. Help us reach our goal to give ten people life-changing procedures!

Update from the Field

August 2018

Your generosity gave two people in India the gift of sight! One of the people your donations have helped is Rahul (pictured to the right). Rahul was born with Down Syndrome. At the age of six, he lost eyesight in both of his eyes due to an infection. For the rest of his childhood and young adulthood, Rahul struggled to communicate without the use of sight. Fortunately, at 21 years old, he was lucky enough to receive a cornea transplant. After the transplant, his smile came back and his warm hugs delighted everyone he touched. After a few years, his eyesight began to decline again. Rahul became depressed, often had nightmares, and cried silently in his room. Now, at 37 years old, he's been given another chance. With your donations, SightLife was able to provide Rahul with a life-changing corneal transplant. As soon as his vision came back, so did his smile. He is so happy to be able to see his family again. Your donations people just like Rahul all over India.

May 2018

YOUR donations have contributed to a record-breaking year for SightLife! Last year, SightLife and their partners in India provided 16,736 corneas for transplants in 2017! This growth in transplants has helped SightLife move towards their goal of eliminating corneal blindness in India and around the world. Your generous donations have also helped SightLife launch prevention and awareness programs in Nepal and India. These programs involve training community health workers to diagnose corneal abrasions and treat them in order to prevent blindness. These workers also educate their communities about eye care and when to seek aid.

Your donations are helping people like Rekha (pictured to the right). Rekha's eyesight slowly became obscured by a white opacity over 22 years, until she was almost completely blind. She lost her ability to manage the household and support her family, as she dealt with chronic pain and inflammation. Then, she got a call about a cornea transplant that could change her life. After her transplant, each day got brighter. She was able to see the faces of her children and husband again. She is so grateful to see the trees and sunsets she missed so much. Your donations gave Rekha the gift of sight once more. With your help, we can continue to give the gift of sight to those in need and eliminate corneal blindness in India.

Thanks to YOUR donations, SightLife officially became the highest transplant volume eye bank in Uttar Pradesh state! The eye bank team achieved 36 transplants in May, a 34% increase from the prior month.

Baby Ellah (pictured to the right) was born with an opaque cornea causing blindness in one eye. Thanks to your donations, Ellah was able to receive a cornea transplant! Ellah's parents, Baz Mohamed and Azmi, are so grateful to SightLife and GreaterGood. They have regular follow-up appointments with Dr. Umang, who performed the cornea transplant, and are on constant alert to make sure Ellah does not accidentally scratch or rub her eye. Ellah's family has had to relocate out of Afghanistan to Delhi in order to be closer to Dr. Umang and have better healthcare options in a land that is not ridden with war. They say all the hard work is worth it to see their baby girl have the life she deserves. Because of this experience, Baz Mohamed has been encouraged to become an organ donor to be able to give back to others. He hopes that one day Ellah will become a doctor to help others, but he supports whatever future she chooses for herself.

SightLife's mission is to eliminate corneal blindness worldwide. As a global health organization with partners in 30 countries, they facilitate programs that give people living with treatable blindness access to sight-restoring surgeries. Their goal is that by 2040, anyone with treatable corneal blindness anywhere in the world will have access to have their vision restored.