| Deshabandu Dr F. G. Hudson Silva | |
|---|---|
| Born | Colombo Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Education | Nalanda College Colombo |
| Occupation | Eye Surgeon |
| Known for | finding the International Eye Bank |
| Religion | Buddhist |
Deshabandu Dr. F. G. Hudson Silva was the founder and president of the International Eye Bank, Tissue Bank, and the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society. He was an honorary Fellow of the College of Ophthalmologists of Sri Lanka.
He was a brillant student at Nalanda College Colombo. Some of Dr Hudson's notable classmates at Nalanda College were Karunaratne Abeysekera, Stanley Jayasinghe, Dr Harischandra Wijayatunga, Dr Gunadasa Amarasekera, Hon. Rupa Karunathilake, Hon. Dr Dharmasena Attygalle, Dr Henry Jayasena.
Whilst still being a medical student at Medical College, he launched his campaign to collect corneas in 1958. He received his first set of corneas in 1959 and established the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society in 1961.Later on for many years Dr Hudson continued to operate a mini eye bank from his residence at Wijerama Mawatha in colombo with the help of his wife Iranganie (née de Silva Kularatne). Dr Hudson pursued his campaign and succeeded in persuading the majority Buddhist population of Sri Lanka that the donation of eyes after death was a meritorious act. As the campaign gathered momentum, thousands signed up to donate their eyes, and the membership of the Eye Donation Society grew rapidly—branch societies sprung up throughout the country.
Since then, the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society has gifted over 100,000 corneas to restore the sight of the blind in Sri Lanka and 62 other countries and Dr Hudson Silva has been honoured by the people and heads of many countries with honorary titles and awards.
An Eye Hospital in Pakistan has been named after him (Hudson Silva Lions Eye Hospital, Gulberg, Lahore). His successful campaign has been featured in many international newspapers and magazines and the Reader's Digest has published several articles about him.
The Human Tissue Act passed by the Sri Lanka parliament in 1987 enabled Dr Hudson Silva to establish the Model Human Tissue Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Now in addition to eyes, Sri Lanka also donates human tissues to the world.
On May 25 in 1964, which was Vesak Day the first set of eyes was sent to Singapore. Dr Hudson Silva died in Colombo, Sri Lanka
On 22 October 1999, Dr Hudson Silva died in Colombo, Sri Lanka.