Bengaluru, Oct 29 (UNI) The eyes of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who died due to a massive heart attack here Friday, will be donated to two of the best suited beneficiaries in next two days, Narayana Netralaya Chairman Dr Bhujang Shetty said.
Like his father and legendary Kannada film actor Dr Rajkumar, Puneeth also had pledged to donate his eyes to Narayana Nethralaya.
Speaking to the media, Dr Shetty said, "Raghanna (Raghavendra Rajkumar) telephoned me and told me about Puneeth's death. My team rushed to Vikram Hospital and collected his eyes and brought to the Narayana Netralaya."
Raghavendra Rajkumar is elder brother of Puneeth.
In the next two days, Dr Shetty said, the eyes will be transplanted into two of the best suited beneficiaries. "Because of the Covid pandemic, there is a long waiting list. We will conduct an examination to find out two best suited beneficiaries," he said.
Transplantation will take an hour's time and the team has already begun the preparations for it, he added.
Extending his gratitude to the grieving family, Dr Shetty said he has deep respect for Dr Rajkumar's family because they give so much importance to eye donation, which others don't give.
"Despite grief, Raghanna telephoned me and asked my team to come over to the hospital to collect Puneeth's eyes. That's something. Nobody gives so much attention to eye donation. Therefore, I have deep respect for Dr Rajkumar's family. They practise what they say," he said.
Narayana Netralaya, he said, has transplanted the eyes of Dr Rajkumar and his wife and film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar before. "Today, we collected the eyes of Puneeth Rajkumar," he said.
This is a big boost for the "eye donation' campaign because there are millions of Puneeth fans who could be inspired by the actor's pledge to donate his eyes after his death, Dr Shetty said.
Dr Rajkumar used to say that eye donation is a Great Charity and a Pious Charity, he reminisced.
"The eyes of Puneeth Rajkumar are ready to fill light into the dark lives of the two," Dr Shetty said.
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