Overview

• Juliette Cosgrove, now chief nursing officer at the Northern Care Alliance, is publicly sharing her sister Louise’s donation to encourage more people to consent to cornea donation.
• Louise Cosgrove, 27, died in 1996 after the car she was in struck a tree en route to a Wakefield training course, and her corneas were donated shortly after her death.
• NHS Blood and Transplant urges people to include corneas on the NHS Organ Donor Register, noting that while 82% opt to donate all organs and corneas, many exclusions specifically rule out corneas.
• Kyle Bennett of NHS Blood and Transplant says there are not enough cornea donations and that agreeing to donate can transform the lives of people struggling to see their families or live normally.
• NHSBT emphasizes that most people, including many with common eye conditions, can donate corneas and is working with partners such as Specsavers and Hospice UK to widen donation opportunities beyond hospitals.