A pioneering eye donation service, which launched across Essex hospitals, is celebrating its first year of operation, just in time for World Sight Day on 8 October.
In that year, it has helped restore sight to hundreds of people through the donation of 300 pairs of corneas.
Led by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust’s Bereavement Nursing Team, in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the IORbIT eye donation service identifies potential donors and supports sensitive conversations with families about eye donation.
Since being introduced last year, the service is now available across Basildon, Broomfield and Southend hospitals and is regularly ranked among the highest-performing eye donation schemes in the country by NHSBT.
A key part of the service’s success has been training bereavement nurses as specialist cornea retrievers. Laura Player became the first independent specialist cornea retriever in the South East earlier this year, with colleague Nunzio Toscano recently achieving the same qualification. Two more team members are now training, meaning all four will soon be able to carry out cornea retrievals.
Laura Player, Bereavement and Tissue Donation Clinical Nurse Specialist, said: “What makes this work so rewarding is knowing that, at one of the most difficult times in a family’s life, they can still take comfort from helping somebody else. Being able to honour a loved one’s wishes and help restore someone’s sight is an incredible privilege.
“Corneas must be recovered within 24 hours of death to remain suitable for transplant. Previously, specialist retrieval teams travelled from London to carry out the procedure. Having trained retrievers on site saves valuable time and increases the number of corneas that can be used to help patients waiting for sight-restoring surgery.”
The service relies on close collaboration between bereavement nurses and bereavement officers at each hospital site. Bereavement officers are often the first point of contact for families and play a vital role in providing support and helping them make informed decisions about donation.
The team is also working to challenge misconceptions around eye donation. Many people believe they are too old to donate or that existing eye conditions would prevent them from becoming donors. There is often no upper age limit for cornea donation, and many common eye conditions do not rule it out.
Helping others to see a better future
For Matt Hollington, Deputy Director of Nursing at Broomfield Hospital, eye donation became an important part of his family’s bereavement journey following the death of his father, John, in June this year. Knowing that
John was registered as an organ donor, the family immediately agreed when they were approached about cornea donation.
Matt said: “The bereavement team and NHS Blood and Transplant were so compassionate and caring throughout. At no point did we feel under pressure, and we were supported every step of the way.
“Learning that my dad’s donation had potentially given four people the gift of sight brought real comfort to our family. For something that happened so suddenly and was such a shock, it made the whole experience a little softer and gave us the comfort that my dad had left life with something that helped others.”
More than 8,000 people across the UK are waiting for a transplant. The team hopes more people will discuss their wishes with loved ones and register their organ and tissue donation decision, helping give others the gift of sight.
