Assamese actor pledges to donate eyes

Noted Assamese actor Zerifa Wahid pledged to donate her eyes at the Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya here Saturday.

Zerifa is the brand ambassador for the hospital's eye donation campaign.

Pledging to donate her eyes, Zerida called upon people to come forward and follow suit as it not only helps two people to see this world "but it also gives a feeling that a part of you is still alive after death".

"Public awareness about eye donation is almost negligible," she said.

The actor said she has plans to produce a short educational documentary about eye donation with the help of other personalities and Nethralaya as part of her commitment to educate people in this field.

Zerifa said she is in touch with many people who have pledged to donate their eyes and also help popularise the cause, which has not been properly done so far.

The hospital managing director Harsha Bhattacharya said there is great demand for cornea in the country but the number of people donating their eyes after death is very little which is leading to a yawning gap between demand and actual donations.

Khalsa Centre, North East chairman Capt P P Singh who has been spreading awareness about eye donation, called upon the Centre to pass the Human Organ Donation Act so that more organs like kidney, liver besides eyes are available from unclaimed bodies in case of accidents.

Singh also called upon the Assam government to make facilities available for organ donation in Guwahati at the earliest.