Foundation probes ‘forced’ eye donation

The Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines (EBFP) has started its own investigation into a woman’s claim that its personnel took her slain son’s eyes without asking her and her family for permission.

“We would like to assure all that we are also in the process of our own internal investigation and as soon as this is completed, we will initiate the necessary steps to ensure that such an unfortunate incident does not happen again,” Dr. Minguita Padilla, chair and founder of the EBFP, said in an e-mailed statement.

Earlier, the family of Jason Patrick Infante, an 18-year-old Sangguniang Kabataan chair in Makati City, said that they intend to file civil and criminal charges against the foundation.

This was after they discovered that his eyes were taken by Eye Bank personnel at a funeral home without their permission. At that time, the family members were standing outside the morgue as they were informed that they could not view the body during the autopsy.

“Throughout this entire incident, we have acted in good faith. We are still hopeful that this can be resolved peacefully and soon so that the foundation will not be hampered in its important work of bringing sight to the blind,” Padilla said.