VietNamNet Bridge – Of 235 cornea donators in the country in 2015, 85 of them were residents of Con Thoi commune of Ninh Binh province. The number of people in Con Thoi who have registered to donate their corneas after death has risen to nearly 500.

This woman's husband died in 2013 and he donated his corneas to a blind person.

Con Thoi is a coastal commune of Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province. The people here mainly earned their living from agriculture and fisheries. In recent years, this poor coastal commune has had the highest number of cornea donators in Vietnam.

By early 2016 the commune had 86 people who donated their corneas and 417 others who registered to donate their corneas after death, said Nguyen Minh Ly, Chairman of the Red Cross Association of Con Thoi Commune.

The first person in Con Thoi donating her cornea was Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa. Hoa’s death brought light to two people with cornea pathology. This has eliminated the traditional conception of Vietnamese people "death to the whole body".

Ms. Hoa died in June 2007 and she was the first in Vietnam donating her corneas to save two others. After seeing the light, these people went to see Hoa’s family and wanted to become members of the family to worship Hoa as her children.

After Ms. Hoa’s case, many people in Con Tho registered to donate their corneas. Since 2007, 86 Con Thoi residents have donated their corneas to bring light to many others.

"Every year there are tens of thousands of people with cornea disease in Vietnam. Without cornea transplants, their lives will be engulfed in darkness. Realizing the significance and meaning of cornea donation, many Con Thoi people have registered to donate corneas. We just hope that a fading candle will turn on other candles," said Tran Van Thien, Deputy Chairman Con Thoi commune.

Linh Nhat