The Work

According to the China Ministry of Health, there are 5 million cataract patients in China, with an increase of approximately 500,000 new cases each year. Early treatment is a crucial factor for cataract patients to recover completely, especially for younger patients.  To underprivileged cataract patients, restoring eye sight not only means allowing them to live a normal and healthy life, but it also means reestablishing their working ability, thus relieving the burden of disability-induced poverty for them as well as their families.

With the support from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Railways and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Mainland China, the hospital eye trains travel to 9-10 locations each year, providing free surgical operations to the helpless blind cataract patients in remote areas.  Each train will stop at the designated site for 3 to 4 months.

The eye-train has become a teaching hospital after years of development. It provides a training and practice opportunities for the local eye doctors; hence more patients can benefit from the gift of sight.