Families in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are being asked to offer the gift of sight to blind or partially sighted people.
Around 70 ocular donations are required for transplantation each week to help those with sight problems but supplies of corneal tissue are well below levels needed by hospitals.
Now, NHS Humber Health Partnership, the organisation running Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Goole Hospital and Scunthorpe General Hospital, is backing a national campaign to increase donations of corneal tissue.
Dr Harish Lad, Clinical Lead in Organ Donation based at Hull Royal Infirmary, said: “We know the donation of corneas is a sensitive subject and around one in 10 people on the organ donation register do not wish to donate their corneas in the event of their death.
“But we also know corneal donations make a massive difference to the lives of so many people living with sight loss.
“So, we’re making a direct appeal to people signing the register in our area to consider donating their corneas and to ask families to allow their relatives’ corneas to be donated if they, unfortunately, ever find themselves in the position of having to make a decision about organ donation.”
Almost 5,000 corneas were donated to NHSBT in 2024/25, including 26 families in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire who agreed to corneal donation following the death of their loved one.
When a donor – or their family – agrees to corneal donation, only the cornea, the clear outer layer at the front of the eye, is used for transplants. The whole eye is never transplanted.
Unlike organ donation, you don’t have to donate corneas immediately or even die in hospital.
Corneas can still be donated for up to 24 hours after death and donations can happen after death in hospital, hospices or even funeral homes. You can still donate your corneas even if you have poor eyesight and it will not affect how you look after death or delay funeral arrangements.
East Yorkshire mother Barbara Hoggarth agreed to donate her son Ian’s corneas following his sudden death from Brugada, a rare genetic heart condition which can cause sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy young adults. Just days before he collapsed, Ian had cycled 50 miles in The Pennines. He was only 34 when he died in 2012.
Mrs Hoggarth, who is an ambassador for organ donation in Hull and the East Riding, said: “Staff discovered Ian had signed the organ donation register just six weeks before his death so we knew what he wanted and we went ahead with his arrangements.
“As part of his organ donation, Ian also donated his corneas and we learned later that he had helped three different people with sight loss. Corneal donation can make such a massive difference to people’s lives and donating corneas is just like donating another organ.
“It can help people see for the first time, let them see their children or grandchildren’s faces and be independent for the first time in their lives. I’m glad Ian was able to help people achieve that.”
You can find out more about corneal donation or sign the organ donation register by visiting NHS Blood and Transplant’s website.