In a charitable initiative to donate cornea, the traveler, Mr. Fahd Al-Yahya, started his trip from King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital to Abu Dhabi on the bike in support of the Saudi team at the Asian Championship. He sent a message to the world to donate cornea under the slogan "Help me to see" which aims to give hope and positivity to the patient suffering from low vision and encourage people to donate their healthy corneas after death. Before starting his trip, Mr. Al-Yahya visited a number of admitted patients at KKESH with the presence of Dr. Abdulaziz Al Rajhi, Chief Executive Officer of KKESH.

Due to the importance of volunteering and in line with Vision 2030 to encourage volunteering and to spread the concept of health volunteering and on the International Volunteer Day (05 December 2018), KKESH has carried out 5 initiatives under  my_volunteer_health 2

The "an Eye for You" initiative in Hail where the hospital sent a complete medical team of surgeons and specialists to examine and treat 100 cases, including cataract surgeries (lens opacity) and thus reduce the waiting list.

under the initiative (in a Blink of an Eye) to raise the awareness of the dangers of laser pointers, a team of doctors went to schools in Shifa district in Riyadh, including Tamim bin Awes secondary school, Shifa secondary school, Sheikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim secondary . Awareness lectures were presented to students to raise the awareness of the damage of laser pointers and not to play with them because some of the injuries do not have a successful treatment as using the laser pointers leads to a complete burn in the macula thus causing permanent blindness of the affected eye..

A team of doctors and specialists visited the workers at Riyadh Metro station under the initiative (Your Eyes Safety) in order to raise the health awareness regarding the prevention of eye injuries and how to apply the First Aids when the eye is exposed to chemical or superficial injury. Awareness booklets were distributed in many languages.

In addition, three awareness corners were set up at Al-Iman Hospital where doctors and specialists raised awareness about eye diseases and how to prevent them. In addition, there was a corner for eye examination under the initiative (We Care about your Eye).

An awareness exhibition was held under the initiative (Help Me to See) at Princess Noura University and Granada Shopping Mall to promote cornea donation, as it is a noble humanitarian decision indicating generosity. Severe visual impairment due to corneal diseases is one of the most prevalent diseases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Booklets and awareness materials were distributed to visitors and university students.

The participants in these initiatives have interacted with the voluntary work, which is a fundamental pillar in building and developing the society and spreading social cohesion among the citizens of any society. It is a human practice that has been closely linked to all the meanings of good work in all human societies since eternity. These initiatives were covered by the hospital social media as well as the local media.

We have successfully transplanted corneal endothelium for a Saudi patient suffering from very poor vision using Pre Descemet's endothelial keratoplasty (PDEK). This is the first time to use such a technique in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which is considered one of latest techniques for endothelial transplantation in the world.

Pre Descemet's endothelial keratoplasty in ophthalmology is characterized by rapid visual recovery.  Corneal endothelium can be collected from donors under the age of 50 compared to other techniques. Patients with poor function of corneal endothelium can benefit from this technique.

It is worth mentioning that corneal transplantation of all kinds started in the hospital since its establishment in 1983, and the total number of transplantations was (20694) while the number of endothelial transplantation in all techniques was (1010).

The Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, launched the new hospital logo, as this logo was a result of a competition in which more than 1,000 participants took part. After Board of referees sorting of the participants without names, one of the participants was chosen who is a member of the hospital staff. The result was a source of pride for the hospital and this is evidence that in the hospital there are highly qualified members working among us.

Opening Ceremony of KKESH Consultative Meeting (An Eye on the Future)

H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Health, sponsored the opening ceremony of the consultative meeting of King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital, which coincides with the 35^th anniversary of its foundation. The ceremony was held in Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Riyadh on   Thursday morning, 7 Rabi Al Awal 1440H, corresponding to 15 November 2018

Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Health, said: "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness Crown Prince have paid special attention to the health sector as part of the current developments taking place in the Kingdom in all its vital sectors. This reflects the new vision that considers the needs of these sectors and keeps abreast of their developments to create an environment that provides citizens with the most advanced medical services and healthcare.

Al Rabia noted that the Ministry continues to support the hospital's efforts to extend its services and enhance its national role in developing eye health services and national programs for healthcare and prevention.

He added that the establishment of the National Committee for Retinopathy of Prematurity through KKESH reflects the active role of the hospital in the prevention and early intervention in addition to providing support to the hospital to renovate its infrastructure, attract and maintain distinguished personnel, and expand clinical research and national eye disease surveys in line with the National Transition Program 2020and vision 2030 of the Kingdom.

The Chief Executive Officer of King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim Al-Rajhi presented a speech in which he said:  " The hospital was established upon the order of King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in response to the country's need for a distinguished eye health center which provides the most advanced treatment, trains healthcare staff, conduct and publish researches that monitor the spread of diseases and find out  the best treatment methods in the international peer-reviewed  journals

He added that the hospital has gone through many challenges which were overcome due to KKESH strong foundations and cooperative staff led by the best medical team in the region. Today, the Kingdom is leading a prosperous growth at all levels under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques H.H crown prince through the Kingdom's vision 2030, which aims to place our country among the most advanced countries worldwide.

Dr. Al-Rajhi announced the establishment of an international advisory board whose mission is to develop international hospital partnerships, attract distinguished professionals and provide consultation  in the development of future medical and scientific policies, and establish KKESH group  consisting of KKESH graduates and any employee who work for one year or more (physicians, technicians  or administratives) to support the hospital in proposing new ideas, providing technical consultation, and attracting distinguished staff as well as holding social meetings  to enhance the sense of loyalty to the hospital.

He mentioned that the hospital will conduct a comprehensive survey that will cover the Kingdom to identify the causes of poor vision and the prevalence of eye diseases, and will collect information about the available facilities and medical cadres to develop accurate plans to deal with these diseases and optimize the utilization of available resources.

He pointed out that the health sector is undergoing a great administrative and organizational transformation under the leadership of His Excellency Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, who is working in a dynamic approach, based on achievement, measuring impact and recognizing hard workers. He added: "We are working with his support to involve KKESH as a basic role player in the transformation process. The hospital is the home of ophthalmologists in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. More than 53% of Saudi ophthalmic consultants were graduates of KKESH. After 35 years of achievements, the hospital's Advisory Board determined to involve its graduates and more than 22 of the world's most effective ophthalmologist in shaping the next phase, setting our priorities and strategic goals, and place "An eye on the future".

During the ceremony, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabia honored pioneer ophthalmologists among which was Dr. Samer Islam, former General Supervisor of KKESH. The award was received on his behalf by his son Dr. Hussam Islam. Dr. Ehsan Badr was also honored as the first appointed ophthalmologist in the hospital.  The award was received by his sister Dr. Maha Badr.  Dr. Haider Al-Hajjar was honored as the first Saudi ophthalmologist. The award was received by his son Eng. Ghazi Al-Hajjar. Dr. Faleh Al-Falih was also honored as the first Dean of the College of Medicine in the Kingdom. Then, the first batch of ophthalmologists graduated from the KKESH was also honored.

At the end of the ceremony, H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Health, inaugurated the new logo of the hospital. Then, he opened the Al-Kahala exhibition of the Islamic era of Arabic and Islamic manuscripts for ophthalmology which was held in cooperation with Saud Al-Babtain Center for Heritage and Culture.He also opened the medical exhibition.

King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital “KKESH” has participated in the celebration of the World Sight Day under the theme "Eye Care Everywhere", which is held annually on the second Thursday of October

In details, the hospital carried out a number of activities. It organized a specialized exhibition at Riyadh Park Mall in Riyadh that provided a free eye examination by the hospital's doctors and technicians, as well as an awareness corner on eye diseases and how to take care of them.

The celebration included a corner for a number of doctors and technical specialists to receive inquiries and questions related to eye diseases, in addition to the presentation of awareness films and the distribution of educational brochures.

The hospital’s exhibition also included a corner for First Aid and how to deal with eye injuries in a correct manner in addition to a special corner for contact lenses, how to take care of them and what is the damage caused by misuse.

On this day, the hospital also organized special activities in which the blind and the visually impaired people participated, and launched an art exhibition containing paintings and photographs by the blind and the visually impaired participants.

The activities included dark room activity where the experience represents an opportunity for the sighted persons to simulate the lives of the blind and the visually impaired people to identify their needs and raise the awareness of their rights

During the experiment, each visitor is given a white stick, enters the room and lives the life of the blind. A group of blind people participated in the organization of the dark room. They also guided the visitors as well as a number of members of the voluntary team “Sam” who helped in organizing the white stick activity.

The hospital's participation in the World Sight Day is part of the world health events package, which the hospital is keen to participate in, in order to raise health awareness among people about eye diseases and their risks in order to eliminate the causes of visual disability, which can be avoided either by treatment or prevention.