“I’m so grateful for this miracle cure”

“I woke up one day and my vision was blurry,” says Neil. “It was like looking through a cloud and I couldn’t open my eyes. Initially, medics thought it was conjunctivitis, but the symptoms continued for months.”

Neil needed further investigations. He was diagnosed with a number of conditions, some of which have continued to affect him for more than 15 years, the last 5 of which have been, he says, Hell.

“In the last 5 years I have had to undergo about 50 treatments. My left eye had to be sewn up to prevent it getting worse and with the procedures and the regular infections I was forced to give up work.

“To treat the symptoms of my condition I have been prescribed with a number of different steroid drops. I’ve also had six cornea grafts, but the solutions were always temporary and my eyesight would deteriorate again. Before long, I would be back to being very uncomfortable and dealing with recurring infections.”

Thankfully, for Neil, a “miracle” cure exists.

Serum eyedrops are made from donated blood. The blood is processed to separate out the serum, which is then diluted with saline.

The eyedrops are used to treat a growing number of people with problems such as dry eye syndrome, which can, in severe cases, cause extreme pain, sensitivity to light, infection, and vision loss.

One blood donation can provide up to five months of treatment for people with sight difficulties. Eyedrops are another example of the amazing ways blood donation helps to improve people’s lives. For people like Neil, they are a lifeline.

“In the week after I started receiving the eyedrops, the defect in my eye had reduced by half,” he says. “My eyes went from a red-looking colour back to white within a day.

(Picture: vials of eye serum in the laboratory)

“I can’t express my thanks enough to blood donors for giving their time to allow products like the serum eyedrops to be produced. I am now much more comfortable and am not in hospital most weeks, like I used to be.

“I feel like I can get my eyesight fully back in my right eye and the future is looking promising. I’m so grateful for this miracle cure.”