Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has pledged to donate his eyes as part of the National Eye Donation Fortnight.
A certificate issued by S.V. Chandrakumar, State programme officer, Tamil Nadu State Blindness Control Society, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, said Mr. Palaniswami was a “proud eye donor and has solemnly pledged to make his country blindness free by gifting his vision.”
As part of the fortnight, the Chief Minister launched an online portal created by the Tamil Nadu State Blindness Control Society to enable persons who wish to pledge to donate their eyes - www.hmis.tn.gov.in/eye-donor - on Monday, according to a press release.
In India, nearly 68 lakh persons suffer from corneal blindness. The majority of them are children and young persons. Eye donation makes it possible to give vision to persons through corneal transplantation.
The website was created with the aim of creating awareness on eye donations and the processes involved, among people and to create a registry of eye donors in Tamil Nadu. Persons who wish to pledge their eyes can register on the portal by providing details including their names, residential address, phone numbers and email addresses. Once they pledge, they will be able to download the certificate of commitment and also get it on their registered email address.
Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam and Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan were present on the occasion.
