Mrs Nguyen Thi Hoa, 81, from the northern province of Ninh Binh, became the first donor of corneas in Vietnam.

Mrs Hoa passed away on May 5, 2007 and she donated her corneas to a local villager. Doctors from the eye bank said that after Mrs Hoa passed away, her children informed the bank of her wish to donate the corneas. 

Dr. Hoang Minh Chau, Deputy Director of the Central Eye Hospital and colleagues recent conducted the cornea transplant operation on two farmers who say they can now see objects clearly.

Currently, there are round 200,000-300,000 people who need cornea transplants in Vietnam.