KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) has carried out another significant transplant procedure after the family of 21-year-old dialysis patient Abdul Samad donated his corneas, giving two visually impaired people an opportunity to regain their sight.
According to a press release issued by SIUT, Abdul Samad, a resident of Purana Golimar, had been receiving dialysis treatment at the institute since April last year. He suffered from kidney failure caused by a genetically inherited kidney disorder.
SIUT said that Samad's medical condition and family history did not permit him to undergo a kidney transplant.
His elder brother has also been undergoing dialysis at SIUT since 2016. The two brothers regularly came to the hospital together for their dialysis sessions and supported each other throughout their treatment, according to nephrologists who cared for them.
Organ donation already had a special place in the family's history. Samad's maternal uncle underwent a kidney transplant at SIUT in 1986 after receiving a kidney donated by Samad's mother, Pervin.
Pervin is an employee of SIUT and works as a technologist in the institute's Pathology Department. Samad had studied up to class five and later helped his father at his shop.
Following Samad's death, the family decided to turn their personal loss into hope for others by donating his corneas for transplantation. The donated corneas were transplanted into two visually impaired recipients, offering them the prospect of restored sight and an improved quality of life.
SIUT appreciated the family's courageous and humanitarian gesture and stressed the importance of greater public awareness about deceased organ and tissue donation, which can help save and improve the lives of others.
