Hrithik Roshan pledges to donate his eyes

Risingbd Desk: Even as Hrithik Roshan continues to wow the audiences as Rohan, the visually challenged lead of Kaabil, the actor is winning hearts for another cause. According to sources, he pledged to donate his eyes on the occasion of his 43rd birthday on January 10.

Though Hrithik has always been socially conscious, it was his close association with the visually challenged during the shoot of the Sanjay Gupta film that prompted this decision.

Dr S. Natarajan, the chairman and director of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital through which the actor pledged to donate his eyes, said, "When I saw the trailer of Kaabil, I called Rakesh Roshan (producer) and asked if Hrithik would pledge his eyes. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that his son was already planning to do so. When I spoke to Hrithik, he told me that he would like to celebrate his birthday by pledging his eyes."

The ophthalmologist, incidentally, was also the doctor for Hrithik's grandfather, the legendary composer Roshan. "Though he pledged his eyes on his birthday, he requested us to keep it under wraps. We would now like to use this news to motivate others to follow his example." Hrithik was deeply affected when he learnt that by 2020, the number of individuals with unilateral corneal blindness in India is expected to shoot up. The downside is that 75 per cent of these cases are avoidable but due to acute shortage of donors, most cases either go untreated or inadequately treated.

Dr Natarajan rued, "In India, we need close to two lakh donors every year, but currently, we have just 30,000 donations annually."

That's not all. Hrithik, the doctor said, will be part of a campaign that promotes eye donation. The endeavour is aimed towards encouraging a million people to donate their eyes.

Source: Times of India

Risingbd/ Feb 1, 2017/Mukul