A 45-day-old baby in this southern city regained eyesight after corneal transplant surgery thanks to a donation by a laid-off worker in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

He is the youngest beneficiary of a corneal donation on the Chinese mainland, according to Shenzhen Eye Bank, which is under the China Shenzhen branch of Lions Club, the world's largest volunteer service organization.

The baby was born in September with a small corneal dermoid tumor in his left eye.

After an unsuccessful operation last Thursday, the fragile new born needed a cornea transplant to save his eye.

On the same day, Xie Yuping, 54, passed away after a four-year fight with breast cancer.

Just two days prior, she had signed an organ volunteer statement donating her corneas to the Shenzhen Eye Bank.

"She learned about the significance of corneal donation through the media and expressed her wishes to her family members and friends. They finally reached me and helped her fulfill her last will," said Yao Xiaoming, an ocular specialist in charge of the Shenzhen Eye Bank.

Xie's corneas saved the eyes of two residents on the Shenzhen Eye Bank waiting list on the night they arrived. A part of the corneas was transplanted into the eye of the baby on Friday morning.

"The surgery was very successful. The baby could leave the hospital tomorrow," Yao told China Daily yesterday.

The baby's father, a member of the Gelao ethnic minority from Southwest China's Guizhou Province who has worked in Shenzhen for a couple of years, said: "We are full of gratitude to the donator, the medical experts and the caring and loving city."

Upon learning that the corneas of his mother saved the eyesight of a newly born boy, Xie's son sent a message to Yao expressing his gratitude for allowing his mothers' cornea to benefit others.

"It is just as if my mother's life has been extended indefinitely," his note said.

Thirty-nine people have donated their corneas to the Shenzhen Eye Bank so far this year, benefiting more than 80 people, Yao said.

Since the city's first donation in 1999, a total of 119 people have donated their corneas.

"We will keep encouraging people to donate their corneas in case of death since demand for them is very big," Yao said.

He estimated that about 3.5 people suffer from corneal blindness in China.

Although Chinese tradition dictates that bodies should be kept intact after death, more people are donating their useful organs, including corneas, Yao said.

(China Daily October 24, 2006)