CAIRO: The April 6 Youth Movement launched an initiate titled, "The Eyes of Dignity," calling on Egyptians to sign a legal document approving the donation of their eyes after their death to those who lost their eyes during clashes with security forces.
"The initiative garnered a lot of positive response on Facebook and Twitter in only one day," Mahmoud Afify, spokesperson of the movement told Daily News Egypt on Monday.
The initiative appealed to several prominent figures who agreed to join, including political activist Gamila Ismail and her son Nour Ayman Nour, Mona Seif, activist and co-founder of the "No to Military Trials" campaign and her brother prominent blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
April 6 also issued a draft of the legal document, so donors can print it and fill it out.
"The revolutionaries sacrificed so much for us and this is how we can try to repay them," said Afify.
However, Said Abdel Meseih, lawyer and director of the Egyptian Center for Development and Human Rights said that although this is a good gesture, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to treat and take care of the injured.
"The injured need donations now from the eye bank and can’t wait until one of the donors passes away so they can be able to see again," Adel Meseih told DNE.
He added that legally a donor must name who he wants to donate his organs to in the legal document and not merely describe him as one of those injured during the uprising.
Organ donation is not very common in Egypt, where people in need prefer to sell their organs to the highest bidder, according to Abdel Mesih.
"From a human rights perspective, people should donate their organs after death to whoever needs them the most, not just those injured during the revolution," he said.
"Donating one’s organs after death represents the peak of humanity and moral nobility and I hope it becomes more popular in Egypt than selling organs," he added.
