Han Ximin
A PAKISTANI girl living in Hong Kong regained her sight yesterday with cornea transplant at Shenzhen Ophthalmology Hospital.
Haasjah Bibi, 17, received the cornea from a Chongqing woman, identified only as Lai, who died Feb. 14.
Haasjah s right eye was affected by keratoconus, a degenerative disorder of the eye. She had endured the disease for a decade and the situation had deteriorated over the past 18 months.
She couldn t see her finger clearly even with high myopia lenses, Dr. Yao Xiaoming said after the surgery Friday.
Haasjah was diagnosed with keratoconus two years ago in her hometown Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Yao said the disease could cause substantial distortion of vision and a cornea transplant called penetrating keratoplasty was the only effective cure for the disease.
Haasjah was one of five Pakistanis who had received cornea transplants at the hospital, Yao said.
A 6-year-old Pakistani boy received a cornea from a Chinese girl of the same age who died of cancer in January last year. There is a wait of about two years for a cornea transplant.
The hospital had conduced nearly 20 cornea operations for foreigners and Hong Kong and Macao residents in recent years.
The city s eye bank had received more than 350 donations and helped more than 700 patients to regain their sight since it was established 11 years ago.
