FULL marks to your newspaper for publishing a letter recently on the free services rendered by the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases to economically underprivileged heart patients. Going by the media it would seem that nothing constructive and humanitarian is being done in Pakistan.

As I read the letter on NICVD my mind drifted to another organisation worth its weight in gold – LRBT (Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust), which was set up in 1985 by two philanthropists, Graham Layton – a British national who subsequently became Pakistani --– and his friend Zaka Rahmatulla. Their aim was : No one should go blind for lack of money.

It started with a small mobile unit in Tando Bago, which was replaced a year later by a full-fledged ophthalmic hospital in Korangi, Karachi.

In 1990s an affluent lady who could have got her cataract operations done in any of the ‘five star hospitals’ opted for LRBT because she had learnt about the extraordinary care shown by its medical and para-medical staff. She was more than happy with the results and donated the amount she would have had to cough out in one of the expensive hospitals.

Last month an economically poor clerk, who was fast losing his vision, was operated upon successfully for a complicated problem. The hospital is now housed on a much larger premises in the same locality. I was amazed to learn that one-third of all eye surgeries in the country are done in a network of 19 hospitals run by the LRBT.

LRBT has some regular donors but with the expansion of its operations, it is running short of funds. In our country there is no tradition of donating organs, particularly cornea.

We get them from Sri Lanka and of late, thanks to All Pakistani Physicians of North America, corneas have started arriving from the US — with all expenses paid by the organisation. Our own people are reluctant to do so. I pledged my corneas when I learnt that it takes only 10 to 15 minutes to remove from the body, without making the eyes look disfigured. What is important is that the corneas should be removed within three hours of the donor’s death.

Those seeking more information about LRBT should access their website: www.lrbt.org.pk

Asif Noorani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018