Cataract
Cataract is the single greatest cause of blindness in the world, responsible for blinding half of the world’s blind population - a staggering 17 million people.
What Causes a Cataract?
Little is known about the causes of cataract but they appear more frequently in older people than in the young, although children are affected through congenital cataract.
The disease is often linked to eye injury or diseases such as glaucoma and diabetes. In cases of old age or injury, fluid causes the lens fibres to swell and form a lump. Much like the white of an egg, the clear lens becomes an opaque white.
The Cure
In spite of what we don’t know about the causes, curing cataract is simple.
CBM specialists place low cost intraocular lens implants right inside the eye, meaning that patients no longer have to worry about the cost of maintaining and replacing glasses.
Restoring sight to an adult through a cataract operation costs just £20 through CBM. For many in the developing world who struggle for food and basic needs, this price is still too high.
Through the support of donors like you, CBM completed a cataract operation every minute in 2005, giving sight to over 600,000 people in the developing world.