Hospice team recognised as top-performing for cornea donation
27/03/2026
Transplants help restore the sight of patients with a variety of sight conditions
Katharine House Hospice has been recognised as a top-performing hospice for cornea donation through an NHS Blood and Transplant initiative.
The scheme encourages patients to consider donation, helping address a national shortage affecting over 3,500 people.
Corneas are a clear outer layer of tissue at the front of the eye which lets in light. Transplants help restore the sight of patients with a variety of sight conditions.
The hospice’s support of the scheme was celebrated at a special event on Wednesday, where ward administrator Hayley White received an award for her dedication to the initiative.
Lizzie Partridge, Tissue Donation Nurse Specialist at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Cornea donation is really quite special and by making the decision to donate, patients at Katharine House – and at all hospices involved in this initiative and in hospitals across the country – are giving the gift of sight to many. Donation is an act of huge generosity that can have an extraordinary impact, we cannot thank all our donors and their families enough.
“We encourage everybody to think about their organ and tissue donation decision and register it on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
Jodie Frost, Specialty Doctor who has led the project at Katharine House Hospice, said: “Many of our patients and families have assumed that they aren’t able to donate anything after death, due to their diagnosis. Although cornea donation has criteria to adhere to, many more people can give this wonderful gift than realised. Conditions such as cancer, for instance, are not a contra-indication for corneal donation.
“I am so proud of the wonderful work that the Katharine House team have put in to make these conversations become part of our daily care for patients and loved ones.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
Reader's opinions
