Viewers of Channel 5’s Cause of Death series, which gives an insight into coronial investigations and the work of the mortuary team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, alongside Lancashire Police and the Coroner’s Office, will have witnessed in last night’s episode how Jack Emmett, with the support of his family, was able to give the gift of sight.
Jack, 26, who featured in last night’s episode, sadly died in April in the Emergency Department at Royal Preston Hospital, after going into cardiac arrest following a seizure at home.
Following a conversation between Jack’s family and the Bereavement and Tissue Donation Nurses at the Trust, Jack’s mum Lisa consented for Jack to become an eye donor, and for his corneas to be donated for transplant.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals are one of only five Eye Retrieval Schemes nationally, which means the Trust’s Bereavement and Tissue Donation team can offer all suitable patients the option to donate tissues for transplant after death.
Bereavement and Donor Support Nurse Cecily White, who works in the team, said: “The cornea is a small lens - the window at the front of the eye - that lets light into the eye, enabling sight, and when this becomes damaged or disfigured, this can drastically impact sight.
“When we work with families on eye donations the whole eye is donated, but the eye is not transplanted whole. Consenting to eye donation and donating corneas for transplant can dramatically improve the recipient's quality of life.
“Most people can donate their corneas; age, poor eyesight - even if you have had cataract surgery, and many medical conditions, including cancer, are not usually a barrier to donation.”
Nationally, eye donations are drastically low, with an approximate 18-month wait for a corneal transplant. Many waiting are registered blind.
The procedure is completed within the 24 hours following death, so won’t delay any funeral plans, and the eye is carefully reconstructed, so donation would not prevent an open casket, and ensures you can still spend time with your loved one after the procedure and before the funeral takes place. One donor who donates their eyes can help up to 10 people, not only with the gift of a cornea but also to help repair the sclera - the white of the eye - in some circumstances.
By increasing awareness, the hope is to enable more people like Jack and Lisa to move forward with tissue donation after death – after one episode in particular in the first series of Cause of Death, which featured Margaret Charnley, who donated her organs after death, there was a 300% increase in people registering their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register from the week before.
Kyle Bennett, Assistant Director for Tissue and Eye Services at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Cornea donation means there can be light after darkness. No one should have to go without being able to see their loved ones, which is why we are reminding people to consider giving the gift of sight.
“We understand that people often view the eyes with more emotion and see them as more symbolic than other parts of the body, but what greater gift can you give to someone than the ability to see the world around them, their loved ones faces and the independence which comes from being able to once again see things with their own eyes.
“There are less corneas in our eye bank than are needed for those waiting for a transplant, so it’s wonderful when people like Jack donate to give the gift of sight to others.
“If you agree to cornea donation, please help by registering your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and telling your family so they are better equipped to act for you should that day ever come.”
Feedback from many families, having been able to do something positive, by giving someone the gift of their sight back following bereavement, has been that it has brought them comfort in their time of grief.
To think of helping others when going through the worst possible time shows amazing kindness and compassion. If, like Jack and Lisa, you would be willing to give others an incredible gift, register your decision: https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/
