NewsHealth

Actions

Fundraiser held for restoring eyesight of thousands of third-world residents

Posted at 9:28 PM, Mar 25, 2012
and last updated 2012-03-27 12:40:21-04

PARK CITY, Utah -- The Moran Eye Center held a fundraiser Saturday night at Snowbird Resort. The event featured a world-famous doctor credited with restoring eyesight to thousands of people around the world.

Sanduk Ruit has restored or improved sight for tens of thousands of the world's poorest people. Ruit finds surgeons from around the world--many from the Moran Eye Center in Utah--and takes them to remote villages for education and eyesight restoration.

"Nearly twenty million people are affected worldwide, and mostly in developing countries," said Ruit. "It's a simple surgery that costs about 30 dollars a case. Can restore the sight."

The restoration of eyesight helps not only the patient, but entire families in third-world countries where there is little or no assistance for the blind.

"Many patients see their grandchildren for the first time. Many have been blind for years," said Jenny Wilson, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement for the Moran Eye Center.

Funds raised at the event will provide more training and more surgeries for those in need.