Eye Donation

Eye Donation
Benefits
To help patients with cornea problems, which are of many types:
- blurred cornea (e.g. from scars) or swollen cornea caused by accidents, chemicals, infection, including congenital cornea diseases.
- cornea with abnormal curvature
- emergency cases e.g. severe infectious diseases which are uncontrollable by medication, or broken/about to be broken cornea. Regardless of the cause, it is necessary to remove the infected part of the cornea and replace it with a donated cornea to save the eye.
- aesthetic purposes e.g. to make the white spots on the pupil disappear, with no concern about the eye's seeing function. This practice is not widely done in Thailand because, as the number of donated corneas is still limited, it is important to reserve the donated corneas for those who have hope for improved vision.

Methods
Once a person is dead, his/her eyes will deteriorate and decay just like any other organs. This explains why it is very important for the eyes to be stored as soon as possible-within 6 hours. Otherwise, the eyes can no longer be used. Moreover, it is advisable that the corpse be free of formalin or other preservative until the eyes are removed.
Procedures for eye donation
1. Fill out an intention form [1] .
2. Once the Red Cross Eye Bank receives your intention form, a donor ID card will be mailed to the address specified.
3. Please notify the Red Cross Eye Bank of any address or status changes.
Things you should do after eye donation
1. Inform family members or relatives about the donation.
2. Keep your donor ID card safe and accessible.
3. In case of eye problems, consult your physician.

Thai Red Cross Eye Bank Uniform Donor Pledge (DOC) [2]

Contact Information
Eye Bank, Thai Red Cross
Therdprakiet Somdej Phrayanasungworn (Charoen Suwattano) Bld., 7th Floor
Henry Dunant Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0-2252-8131-9, 0-2258-8181-9, 0-2256-4039 and 0-2256-4040 (24 Hrs)
E-mail: eyebank [at] redcross [dot] or [dot] th