Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s eye donation not just gave the gift of sight to four people, but also boosted eye donation and pledging. Narayana Nethralaya that runs the Dr. Rajkumar Eye Bank has recorded a huge spike in donations since Mr. Puneeth’s eye donation on October 29.
K. Bhujang Shetty, chairman and managing director of Narayana Nethralaya, said the eye bank has received one lakh eye pledges from November till date. “We have collected 2,019 eyes since the actor’s death. The numbers are higher than the pre-COVID period and are increasing every month. In August, we collected 208 eyes and 1,500 pledges,” he said.
“While we had seen a total of around 76,000 pledges in the 30 years of the eye bank’s existence, a whopping one lakh pledges have been recorded in the ten months alone. All these pledges are online through our missed call facility. We have launched an exclusive number — 8884018800 — through which people who wish to pledge their eyes can register their names. Those who want to donate can call 9741685555,” the doctor pointed out.
