N.B. man set to make ‘remarkable’ gift to Dal lab

WATCH: A Halifax lab is expected to receive a powerful donation. It comes courtesy of a man in New Brunswick battling a terminal illness, but the donation isn’t monetary. Julia Wong explains.

HALIFAX – A Dalhousie University lab is expected to receive a one-of-a-kind gift.

The Retina and Optic Nerve Research Laboratory is a specialized lab where scientists research the eye and vision. It started 15 years ago and projects range from examining eye function during disease to research on how the retina communicates with the brain.

In the last 15 years, the lab has only ever received two donations of human eyes, both of which were facilitated through doctors. But it is slated to receive its first-ever donation from an individual who sought out the lab specifically and out of his own volition.

Ophthalmology professor Dr. Balwantray Chauhan, who belongs to the lab, calls the gift remarkable.

“This gentleman had contacted me in a very altruistic way to say that he wanted to help in any way that he could towards research,” he said.

“I said ‘Of course your eyes can be used for research. They can be used for tissue transplantation.’ He was game for all of that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I said 'Of course your eyes can be used for research. They can be used for tissue transplantation.' He was game for all of that."

The donor is Stu Clark of Saint John, N.B. Clark, 46, is in the final stages of Huntington’s Disease and tells Global News he wants to donate all his organs, including his eyes, upon death.

“I’m in the perfect situation to donate so it’s very important to me personally.”

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Clark said he spent months searching for an organization to receive his eyes.

He hopes his donation helps further research in transplantation and raises more awareness for organ donation.

Clark plans to visit Halifax to meet Dr. Chauhan in person and undergo a series of tests on his eyes.

Chauhan said the proactive donation is something he has never seen during his time with the lab. He said it sends a powerful message.

“We shouldn’t underestimate even the power of a single eye,” Chauhan said.

“I think this is a very generous individual who sees how research is important and how it can help people — other people, not him. That’s what moved me about this particular individual. This individual really from his own volition came to me said ‘Look this is what I want to do.’ That’s what makes it remarkable.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think this is a very generous individual who sees how research is important and how it can help people — other people, not him. That's what moved me about this particular individual. This individual really from his own volition came to me said 'Look this is what I want to do.' That's what makes it remarkable."

Donations critical for research

Chauhan said human eye donations offer scientists something that animal eyes cannot — more specific research opportunities.

“We now have incredible imaging devices we’re using daily to be able to look at very, very small structures in the eye. But we need to understand better what we’re looking at and how to do that,” he said.

“It’s important for education. We have medical students and ophthalmologists who are training. They also need to benefit from this type of information.”

Chauhan said the research done in the lab could help further understanding of how to diagnose and treat conditions such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

“We need to identify patients that have diseases and make sure they get the right care. The diagnostic tests we use have to be very accurate and for us to be able to design accurate diagnostic tests, it’s very important to know how much loss there is in that particular eye and how best to measure it,” he said. “Tissue donations can help us with that.”