Dr. Ahsan Khan is an ophthalmologist and the Gift of Sight program director. He has always had a strong interest in foreign medical mission work. He ran a successful cataract surgery camp in Rabwah, Pakistan in 2004, and organized the inaugural Gift of Sight surgical mission in Guatemala in September of 2010, and a second trip in the fall of 2011. “Last year we were able to expand our efforts by including an optometry clinic and dispensing free glasses donated by Lions Club of America,” said Dr. Khan. “This year we are excited to bring on some reputable surgeons from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University of Chicago to assist in the cataract surgery camp. In addition to increasing the number of cataract surgeries compared to last year, we will expand our efforts by performing pterygium and glaucoma surgery as well.” This year’s Gift of Sight eye camp will also include an educational component, with lectures and presentations to be provided by the Humanity First USA doctors to the local Guatemalan ophthalmologists.
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Support the Gift of Sight team and make a contribution today — any amount can make a difference.
Humanity First USA’s 3rd Annual Gift of Sight Eye Clinic
Humanity First USA’s Gift of Sight team will return to Proyecto Salud y Paz in Chichicastenango, Guatemala for another week-long eye camp to provide free eye care to rural Guatemalans. In collaboration with Humanity First Guatemala and IPC (Panamerican Institute against Blindness), the Gift of Sight team will perform eye surgeries and provide pre- and post-operational care and medicines to patients.
This year’s Gift of Sight mission is the third annual trip that has been organized and carried out under the guidance of Gift of Sight Program Director and ophthalmologist Dr. Ahsan Khan. Lead ophthalmologists for the 2012 camp are Dr. Charles Bouchard and Dr. Ali Djalilian. Dr. Bouchard is the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, and Dr. Djalilian is the Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. They are joined by ophthalmology resident, Dr. Hajra Saeed, anesthesiologist Dr. Saqib Ali, Dr. Amir Mehralian, surgical technical Juan Nunez, as well as several student volunteers. The US team will be working alongside Guatemalan surgeons, residents, nurses and surgical technicians from IPC during the Gift of Sight eye camp.
Thirty-five surgeries have already been completed during the preliminary clinic held by Humanity First Guatemala and IPC, and the Gift of Sight team anticipates another year of success, as we restore vision to those in need. We cannot do this without your support: please consider making a contribution — with a $100 donation, you can cover costs for one cataract surgery and help give the gift of sight.
Join hands with Humanity First USA & the Gift of Sight team to fight blindness and restore vision at Night for Sight 2012 in Aurora, Illinois on May 12th.
Dr. Ahsan Khan, ophthalmologist and Director of the Gift of Sight program, will be running the Southern California Half Marathon in Irvine on January 7, 2012 to raise money and awareness for the Gift of Sight project of Humanity First, USA.
Please visit Dr. Khan’s fundraising link above and support Humanity First, USA. With your help, we will be able to continue restoring vision to those in need around the world.
Saturday, November 26th marked the last day of Gift of Sight 2011 with the final post operation clinic held at Salud y Paz in Chichicastenango. The post-op team included HF Guatemala Director David Gonzalez, Aliya Latif, Dr. Josa Carlos Garcia and Dr. Jorge Sanchez. All of the patients’ surgeries were successful, and they expressed gratitude for having their vision restored.
The Gift of Sight team would like to thank every individual who supported this trip in any manner - without your contributions, we would not have been able to give the gift of sight to the people of Guatemala.
