By Lawani Mikairu
LAGOS—Lion’s Club International District 44A1 has successfully facilitated cornea transplant for five indigent Nigerians in Kenya .  This is just as the club is making passionate appeal to Nigerians to embrace the culture  of organ donations, especially the eye which is badly needed by people with sight challenges.

The iImmediate past District Governor of the club,  Olatunbosun Okpeseyi ,  who  made the appeal at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos when he arrived Nigeria from Kenya with the five cornea beneficiaries, said  the desire to assist them was borne out of a passion of service to humanity and giving back to the society especially the less privileged. He however lamented that Nigerians were not used to donating organs even when they no longer need them after death.

The five beneficiaries are  Adewale Opeyemi Segun 18 years, Kikiope Ayodele 6 years, Emmanuel Omojua 7 years, Esther Augustine 17 years and Mrs. Adenine Bolarinwa, 34 years.

Speaking also, Dr. Mosul Faderin , who travelled to Kenya with the patients and participated in the operation, said that cornea transplant happens when someone who has had problems with the front part of the eyes as a result of injury or measles, is left untreated and the eyes become white and eventually lose  sight.

According to Faderin, who is in charge of the eye bank, Lagos State Teaching Hospital ( LASUTH) and also a member of the Lions Club, for the transplant, what is needed is someone who is dead and has given permission for his or her cornea to be used to give another sight. She added that the person is well-tested for diseases not because it is not a safe process but to show whoever is receiving the cornea feels safe.

“The cornea has no blood vessels so nothing can be transmitted. In fact it is 99.99% safe but we carry out the tests to assure that what the beneficiary is getting is entirely safe”, Faderin said.

On whether a facility was available in Nigeria where these Transplant could be  done, Dr. Faderin said,” Oh! We have the facility at LASUTH the reason why these kids were flown to Kenya is because that was where the corneas were donated.”

“The intricacies of harvesting corneas are much and we need to have donations. There are many people on the waiting list to receive this cornea and when we wanted to carry out the transplant, we got corneas from the United States but they told us that given the time it will take to do the paper work and send over that it may be too late arriving in Nigeria; and so we had to go to Kenya where there were some.”

Also speaking, Lynda Odi Okpeseyi, also a member of the Lion’s Club said another challenge the group faced was the financial implication of going to Kenya for the surgery saying that apart from the cornea which costs $2500, there was a process fee of $1000 and $700, then there was also fees for tests like HIV, Hypertaitis and a host of others.

” We really cannot but a price to all but roughly we spent N 8, 708,000 to cater for the five beneficiaries and their families which is no mean feat but like we said, it’s not about the money but about the need to give a gift that keeps on giving,” she said.