Eye donations in Mid and South Essex hospitals "could reach up to 200 pairs" a year
42 pairs of corneas have been donated since April this year
An eye donation service in Essex has tripled the number of corneas donated for transplant in just a few months.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has seen 42 pairs of corneas donated since April, compared to just 13 pairs in the previous year.
Patients in the UK have to wait up to 18 months for a transplant due to a national shortage of corneas. The Foundation Trust has called this work "vital" to fix the shortage.
We spoke to Kelly Baker, Lead Bereavement Officer at Broomfield Hospital, who has a personal connection the service.
Her mum passed away in 2023, and it was her wish to donate her corneas. Kelly received a letter saying that her mum's eyes had helped three others.
"It was quite overwhelming, and it made the hair stand up on my arms.
"I just thought that is amazing that my mum has done that for three people, and she would have loved that.
"If she could see, and she knew what she had done, she would be really happy to know that she'd helped three people to see again."
Kelly said that "not a lot of people would know" about being able to donate corneas.
"I think it is not something that a lot of people really discussed.
"I think it is quite important for people to have that chat, so that you know that they do want to donate, or definitely don't."
She also told us that the donation of corneas is "time sensitive" and that "you only have 24 hours to retrieve them in total from the time the person dies."
"I think it would be nice to know what your loved ones wishes are, when the time does come."
"Its hard to have a conversation about when someone dies, but I do think it is good to have conversations about that, because it makes it easier for you when the time comes."