MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement with Santa Lucia International Eye Bank to promote cornea and eye donations in the country.
Moreno also signed a donor card, allowing the Eye Bank to harvest his eyes and corneas upon his death.
“When I die, I want to donate my eyes to those in need. Sana sumunod na kayo, wala namang mawawala sa inyo kapag naging eye donor kayo. Kung namatay kayo, may makikinabang pa rin sa mga mata ninyo,” he said.
The Eye Bank is owned and operated by the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines (EBFP), a non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization that has been serving patients since 1995.
It is the only facility in the country that distributes donated eye tissues or corneas for use in transplant, research and education.
EBFP president and chief executive officer Ma. Dominga Padilla thanked Moreno for supporting the Eye Bank and lauded him for signing up as an eye donor.
Padilla hopes that more people would be open to the idea of becoming eye donors.
Moreno assured Padilla that the city’s district hospitals Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center, Justice Jose Abad Santos Memorial Medical Hospital, Ospital ng Maynila, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Tondo and Sta. Ana Hospital – are committed to helping the Eye Bank achieve its mission to promote eye donation in the Philippines.
The Eye Bank is located at the Philippine General Hospital compound.