Page 23 - Pakistan Link - July 16, 2021

COMMENTARY JULY 16, 2021 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

Mr Iftikhar Husain’s cool, calm and Aquila Kiani observes: “In fact, any cial Order which we all are so much of corneas, they tacitly agree to the ciety (PEBS), established in the
persistent efforts are clearing up the act intended for the good of human- desirous to establish.” action. (3) Emotional: Imagine a 1960s by late Mr Iftikhar Husain
cobwebs of confused thinking and ity should be regarded as ‘MUSAL- Discussing the obstacles in ac- family just bereaved of a dear one for the prevention of blindness
soon, we hope that many a blind E-MURSILA’ which is one of the quiring the donor eyes, the author and within three hours of death, a and cure eye-related diseases, has
shall see the daylight.” accepted source[s] of Law in Islam states: “… Some of the difficul- doctor arriving with equipment for grown into a PEBS Eye & General
In the foreword (First Edition) by all the Muslim jurists and can be ties are discussed below: (1) Legal: removing eyes from the dead body. Hospital (1993) in Karachi. During
Dr Aquila Kiani, Professor and legalized. Besides there are many The legal position of taking eyes The shock of the bereavement gen- the past four decades, the hospital
Chairman (1964-1972) Depart- verses in the HOLY QUR’AN giving out of dead bodies is not clear. In erally is so great that it blunts the has diversified its services which
ment of Sociology, University of guidance for the application of the advanced countries there are laws power of reasoning, at least in the now include Gynecology, Maxillo-
Karachi, reflecting on the Eye dona- laws of the QUR’AN under the uni- providing that every adult person first few hours after death and there facial, Physiotherapy and Labora-
tion movement, writes: “Never has verse of “ISLAH-E-BAINUN-NAS” has the right to sign a will, authoriz- will be very few people who, in that tory Testing. It is very saddening
the mind’s eye perceived an account for the moral, physical and intellec- ing donating his/her eyes to an Eye state of mind, agree to the removal to find that on the PEBS’s website
so vividly as the story of the Eye tual betterment of the Muslims. Af- Bank, after death for use in restor- of eyes from the dead body. This is (https://www.pakistaneyebank.org.
Donation Movement in Pakistan. ter all, what are the HAQOOQ-UL- ing the sight of some blind person the field in which the social worker pk/) there is no photograph or bi-
Its direct appeal to the readers lies IBAD? The individual owes a duty or for research seeking to prevent has to work with persistence in or- ography of Mr Iftikhar Husain. It
in the sincerity of purpose of the to his fellowmen. If he wills in his blindness and to find cure for dis- der to educate the people to act ra- is so unfortunate that our society
founders established both through lifetime a part of his body to be used eases of the eye... In Pakistan there tionally in such situations”. forgets our heroes and pioneers so
words and deeds. The pioneering after his death to benefit a person in is no such law. We hope that the In 2016, after the demise of quickly!
spirit permeates throughout the ar- need of such a part, this should be Government will assist us by pro- Abdul Sattar Edhi sahib, per his Eye Donation For The Corneal
duous struggle for helping people considered as the most sublime hu- mulgating a law on these lines. (2) will, his eyes were used to restore Blind — From Darkness to Light by
to restore their vision. The sev- man act and the person as the most Religious: Many traditional-type vision for two blind persons in Ka- Iftikhar Husain is a historical docu-
enteen years of persistent efforts righteous and noble. The primary religious leaders frown upon any rachi. Pakistan has the third highest ment that chronicles the evolution
gradually dispelled the despair and objective in the entire episode of move designed to disfigure or dis- population (two million) of blind of institutions and practices for the
darkness that seemed to hinder the the Eye Donation Movement has member dead bodies, including re- and impaired-vision persons in the prevention of blindness and eye
Movement in its beginning years…. been to make people of Pakistan moval of eyes. Personally, belief that world. According to the Pakistan cures in Pakistan during the 1960s
It is gratifying to note that a Muslim alive to their duties towards those any action intended for the good of Eye Bank Society (PEBS), Pakistan and 1970s. It is an interesting read;
country like Egypt has a law based who stand in need of them and to humanity at large cannot be against receives around 300 to 400 eyes an- people who want to excel in social
on the Fatwa by the Mufti giving show a concern for others so that religion because religion itself is nually from Sri Lanka International work can benefit from this impor-
a ruling in favor of removing eyes we as true Muslims are able to fulfil for the good of humanity…My in- Eye Bank, Colombo, but Pakistan’s tant work.
from dead bodies for the purpose of HAQOOQ-UL-IBAD in the true formal discussions with certain annual requirement is in thousands [Dr Ahmed S. Khan
corneal graft operations…” sense of the term. The performance Muslim religious leaders show that which could only be met through (dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org) is a Ful-
Expounding on eye donation of such humanitarian duties alone whereas they are not yet prepared raising awareness for eye donation. bright Specialist Scholar (2017-
viz a viz Islamic values and laws, Dr can give stability to an Islamic So- to support openly the transplant Today, Pakistan Eye Bank So- 2022)]
‘Hidden Diabetes’: The adds that high blood sugar levels often inter-
n By Alice Hall levels” as early as possible, explains Dr Vas. He
he charity Diabetes UK has warned play with other metabolic conditions, such as
the UK is facing a ‘diabetes time- Symptoms You Might Miss high blood pressure, obesity and abnormal
Tbomb’ after nearly 2.5million suffer- cholesterol - all of which can trigger an “in-
ers missed checks due to the pandemic. GPs flammatory state” in the body. This balancing
have performed 41 per cent fewer health act influences how likely you are to experience
checks in the last year, and the backlog has serious complications later down the line.
put millions of patients at risk of complica- Experts are also concerned about the rise
tions related to the disease, which include in hidden diabetes, which is where people al-
heart disease and sight loss. ready have blood sugar levels that are above
The charity’s chief executive Chris Askew the World Health Organization guidance.
said: “Missed appointments and missed or de- Research by the University of Exeter last year
layed diagnoses can devastate lives.” showed that half a million adults may have
One in 10 people over the age of 40 is type 2 diabetes without realizing.
now living with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes Two well established symptoms to look
in the UK. A recent study undertaken by the out for are polydipsia and polyuria; feeling
University of Exeter revealed that those with thirsty all the time and needing to go to the
Type 2 diabetes wait an average of 2.3 years, bathroom more often. “You feel like you want
and sometimes more than five, before getting to drink sweet things, because the body is
diagnosed. The findings, which are based on asking for sugar. Because you are drinking a
data from more than 200,000 patients, stress lot, you end up urinating more often,” says Dr
the importance of regularly screening people Vas. Another sign is unexplained weight loss.
over the age of 40, who are more at risk of “If the body can’t use the glucose in its system,
developing the condition. The wait to get di- it will start to use alternative fuel such as fat,”
agnosed often leads to delays in getting treat- he says. “Because the muscles, and other or-
ment, which increases the risk of serious com- gans, are unable to access the blood sugar they
plications such as heart disease, strokes or eye need, you will also feel tired.”
problems. Thrush is a lesser known sign of Type 2
Dan Howarth, head of care at charity Di- diabetes. It usually occurs around the genitals,
abetes UK, explains the delay could be down but also around the mouth, armpits and in
to how difficult it is to identify the symptoms between the fingers. “Because you are losing
of Type 2 diabetes; often they occur slowly, fluids - water, salt plus glucose - the content
and are easily confused with other conditions. of your urine has changed, allowing for the
Normal blood sugar levels range between formation of candida yeast [thrush],” says Dr
3.5mmol/L and 6.9mmol/L, and the diagnosis Vas.
point is generally 7mmol/L. “[However] you Skin changes are also something to be
only start to get symptoms, such as needing Experts are warning that the reduction in di- warrant a diagnosis with Type-2. aware of. “Glucose and insulin help to regu-
the toilet more often, when your blood sugar agnoses rate means that the NHS now faces a “[Prediabetes] has no symptoms. As your late wound healing, so the process can be
levels are above 11mmol/L. Even then, people “huge backlog” of undiagnosed patients. blood sugar levels go higher, the body will impaired by Type 2 diabetes,” he says. This
often don’t notice the symptoms and put them This comes at a crucial time for the na- mount symptoms. Even this group of individ- increases the risk of wound infections - and
down to something else, such as their stress tion’s health. Being obese is a crucial risk fac- uals can have complications, such as a three in the worst cases, amputations - later down
levels or their age,” explains Howarth. tor for developing Type 2 diabetes, yet over times higher risk of developing eye problems the line.
Although men are more at risk of devel- lockdown one in three people gained weight One study found that insomnia could
oping Type 2 diabetes, the study showed that and decreased their physical activity. A sepa- also be a risk factor associated with develop-
women are more likely to experience a delay rate study found that more than half admitted “Screening and detecting ing Type-2 diabetes. Researchers from the
to their diagnosis. “There is some specula- to snacking more, meaning that delays in di- early gives people extra years to Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden,
tion here, but it could be because women put agnosis rates could only add to the number of understand their diagnosis, and found that people with insomnia were 17
their symptoms down to other factors such as people developing serious complications later per cent more likely to develop diabetes than
hormones, stress or daily activities,” explains down the line. hopefully prevent them suffering those without.
Howarth. Those who aren’t considered to be In patients with Type-1 diabetes, the from more serious complications Because of how tricky it can be to rec-
obese, or whose blood sugar was at the lower body attacks the cells in the pancreas, which later down the line,” says Dr Pras ognize symptoms it is crucial to understand
level of the diabetes range, were also more stops insulin from being created. In Type-2, your risk factor. Being overweight, your eth-
likely to have a delayed diagnosis. the pancreas either doesn’t produce enough nicity, your family history and smoking can
As this new warning shows, the lock- insulin or it becomes ineffective at transport- such as diabetic retinopathy. There is also an all increase your chances of developing Type-
down backlog has also been a driving factor ing glucose - something known as insulin re- increased chance of developing kidney prob- 2 diabetes, and regular screening is recom-
in the number of undiagnosed diabetes cas- sistance. Dr Prash Vas, consultant in Diabe- lems and early nerve damage,” he says. mended for those who are at risk. “Screening
es: at least 60,000 cases of Type 2 diabetes in tes at London Bridge Hospital, explains that The good news is that prediabetes is re- and detecting early gives people extra years
the UK were missed after lockdown began in Type-2 diabetes “exists on a continuum”. At its versible through lifestyle changes, such as a to understand their diagnosis, and hopefully
March 2020, as patients were less likely to see earliest stage it is known as prediabetes, which healthy diet and more physical exercise. How- prevent them suffering from more serious
GPs and get referred for checks, according to occurs when your blood sugar levels are just ever, a delay to diagnosis means you can lose complications later down the line,” says Dr
research from the University of Manchester. higher than normal, but not high enough to the opportunity to “optimize your blood sugar Pras. - The Telegraph
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