Living cornea donation a first for Henan

A 41-year-old man donated his cornea to a woman in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on Monday in the province's first living cornea donation.

Geng Bin, who lives in Nanyang and is general manager of Hopefluent Group Holdings' branch in Henan, lost the sight in his right eye after bumping into an air conditioner holder on Jan 11.

After doctors told him they were unable to recover sight from the eye, Geng chose to donate his cornea.

But the hospital he went to could not find a recipient, so Geng's assistant posted a message on WeChat and a micro blog on Saturday, searching for one.

"Finally, we found the recipient," his assistant told China Daily.

Wang Meilan, 52, a farmer in Zhumadian, a city in Henan province, had a corneal ulcer and had been waiting for a cornea transplant for a month. She said she never thought a donor could be found so quickly.

Wang showed her appreciation to Geng and said she felt very lucky.

The operation went well and Wang can now vaguely see the shape of her fingers, said Chen Peng, director of the ophthalmology department at Zhenghou Second Hospital.

It will not be known for a month whether the cornea will work, Chen added.