By Mamo Gebrehiwot | GoodNewsEthiopia

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s superstar athlete Haile Gebrselassie has presented a check to the National Eye Bank of Ethiopia to cover the cost of 10 cornea transplant operations at the Menelik II Hospital here yesterday. Haile also announced that he will donate his own cornea to the national Ethiopian Eye Bank.

During the check handling ceremony at the Menelik II Hospital, Haile pointed out that the donation, which will help the ten Ethiopians, was merely a gesture on his part to fulfill his national duty as a citizen.

Haile also took the time to officially announce that he will donate his own cornea to the Ethiopian Eye Bank, and urged others to do likewise as they will be able to help fellow Ethiopians, who badly need them.

According to a report by the Eye Bank of Ethiopia, 6,000 Ethiopians, including the country’s current President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, have so far pledged to donate their corneas.

About the National Eye Bank of Ethiopia

The National Eye Bank of Ethiopia, the first eye bank in the country’s history, opened on June 28, 2003, in partnership with the International Federation of Eye and Tissue Banks (IFETB), the Federal Ministry of Health, the Addis Ababa City Administration Health Bureau, the Menelik II Hospital, and the Department of Ophthalmology of the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University.

The eye bank was developed by ORBIS, a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to saving sight and avoiding blindness worldwide. Menelik II Hospital is home to the National Eye Bank.