Puneeth Rajkumar's eyes donated to four people on same day

Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's eyes were donated to four people on the same day. The eyes of the actor were donated soon after his demise on Friday.

This was done using an advanced technique and the transplant was free in honour of the Rajkumar family. All of them were Karnataka-based youngsters and the transplant was performed by a team of five doctors.

Chairman and managing director of Narayana Nethralaya, Dr Bhujang Shetty, said the eyes of Puneeth were collected on Friday after his death and the transplants took place the very next day. "Generally, we transplant donated eyes to two persons but in Puneeth’s case, we were able to give sight to four youths," he said.

"...we used each eye to treat two patients by separating the superior and deeper layers of the cornea. The superior layer was transplanted to two patients who had a superficial corneal disease and only the deeper layer was transplanted to patients with endothelial or deep corneal layer disease. Hence, we conducted four different transplants from two corneas to restore the vision of four patients," Shetty told reporters, adding that such a procedure is carried out first time in the state.

He also thanked the family members of the actor for the donation. "We are very fortunate and grateful for ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar’s eye donation."

In 1994, Puneeth's father and actor Dr Rajkumar lent his name to open the Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank in Narayana Nethralaya.