SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, February 3, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- There are many causes of blindness. But cataracts can be removed surgically, using techniques that have now become so routine that it is often an outpatient procedure. More than 3,000,000 Americans have cataract surgery each year – with excellent results. But in developing countries, many people suffer from cataract-caused blindness.

Background cataract remains the world’s leading cause of blindness. The reasons for this include lack of knowledge about the procedure, the cost of the surgery and availability of medical facilities and qualified personnel to carry out the surgeries. Eighty percent of people who are blind due to cataracts live in under-developed countries. There are a variety of reasons why this is true. They include lack of information, cost of the surgery, distance from a location where the surgery can happen and lack of money.

Sight Surgery International, founded by Baillie Russell-Brown, is a charitable organization that would like to change this. With modern surgery techniques, cataracts can be removed easily. There are even techniques that allow the surgeons to replace the lens with an artificial one. Sight – and in many cases, livelihood and ability to care for self – can be restored.

The average cost of cataract removal surgery in the United States is a little over $3,000. Thanks to donated time from surgeons from all over the world, SSI can arrange surgery for disadvantaged individuals for as little as $100 for one eye.

You can contribute to Sight Surgery International by visiting their Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Pledges to the campaign will pay for surgeries and surgical supplies for individuals who might otherwise not receive treatment. Contributors will receive t-shirts with the logo “Fight for Sight.” They will also receive pictures of the surgery recipients, as well as information about the campaign and about surgery marathons in unusual surroundings.

SSI is a verified charitable organization, so your donations are tax deductible. It is a little late to get a deduction on your 2014 income tax return, but you can start storing up for the 2015 tax year. That’s over and above the good feeling you will get for helping fund surgery for a preventable condition.

With so many people having cataracts, your donations will literally open the shutters of blindness for them. The surgery is well-developed, and relatively low-cost. Especially when the cost of surgery is compared to the cost of lost work-hours and quality of human life. Sight is very precious. It allows us to see the world, to read, to experience. It increases the ability to be safe.

The volunteer surgeons for the program come from all over the world. In addition to providing locations, materials and the surgeons to do the eye surgery, SSI also provides support to local physicians who might not know how to do the surgery. This support can include lectures, practice surgery using simulation and even live surgery under supervision – all tailored to the local surgeon’s level of skill.

Pharmaceutical companies, such as Bausch and Lomb and Alcon sell surgical supplies to Sight Surgery International, further reducing the cost of restoring sight.

Although cataract surgery is one of the more common surgeries SSI performs, they also give eye exams and correct other kinds of vision problems. One of their success stories was a thirty-two year old woman with two children. Georgina had been slowly going blind over three years. She struggled to take care of her children and to perform everyday tasks, such as cooking. Her examination revealed that she had a keratoconus – a disease that causes progressive blindness. The only cure for it was a corneal transplant. SSI located a transplant, found a qualified surgeon, organized donated hospital facilities and donated supplies. After her surgery, she was able to actually see her two-year-old son for the very first time.

Sight is one of those things we take for granted – until we do not have it. More than 25,000,000 people all over the world go blind from cataracts – a condition that can almost always be corrected by a simple, practiced, safe surgical procedure. Clinics where families can get their eyes examined and tested can help those with cataracts and other vision problems.

Your contribution can make a difference. Whether you give a little or a lot through the Indiegogo website, you can let the world know by sharing news of your donation through social media. Perhaps your news will inspire others.

About:

Baillie Russell-Brown is an ophthalmic technician. She is dedicated to preventing blindness all over the world, and has devoted thirty years of her life to her mission. She is proud of her ability to hold down the cost of helping others, through purchasing supplies at cost and locating volunteer physicians.

Baillie Russell-Brown
Sight Surgery International
www.sightsurgeryinternational.com
email us here

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