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Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

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Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#13

Post by 1123581321 »

drittich wrote: post #9

I've long been surprised at how pervasive bad eyesight is, and often at a very young age. It seems like an adaptive trait. Why is it so common to have poor eyesight? What other aspects of human development suffer so much that seem so important for survival?

Insulin resistance is another. It keeps your brain alive when you’re starving, but it destroys millions of pancreases in societies with an over-abundance of food.

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#14

Post by ryzvonusef »

Recursing wrote: post #12

I'm pretty skeptical of the $50 number. GiveWell thinks it's closer to $1000 (still insanely cheap, but there might be even better opportunities!) https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/ca...

$30 dollars for an adult cataract surgery:

https://lrbt.org.pk/how-you-can-help/sponsor-a-surgery/

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#15

Post by bbbbb5 »

Recursing wrote: post #12

I'm pretty skeptical of the $50 number. GiveWell thinks it's closer to $1000 (still insanely cheap, but there might be even better opportunities!) https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/ca...

>We estimate the proportion of cataract surgery patients who have bilateral blindness or severe visual impairment at 10-47% (more). We estimate success in converting blindness or severe visual impairment to moderate visual impairment of 80%-95% (more). We estimate the cost of surgery at $50-$100 (more). Hence, we estimate the cost per blindness or severe visual impairment reversed at $112-$1,250.124

Givewell agrees with the $50 figure.

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#16

Post by scottshamus »

drittich wrote: post #9

I've long been surprised at how pervasive bad eyesight is, and often at a very young age. It seems like an adaptive trait. Why is it so common to have poor eyesight? What other aspects of human development suffer so much that seem so important for survival?

It may not be related to nature. I remember reading research on how sunlight and focusing on distant objects is really important for developing proper eyesight. The current issues with eyesight could be a side-effect of spending more time in doors and only staring at things within 20 to 30 ft.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_benefit_of_daylight_for_ou...

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#17

Post by barbariangrunge »

scottshamus wrote: post #16
drittich wrote: post #9

I've long been surprised at how pervasive bad eyesight is, and often at a very young age. It seems like an adaptive trait. Why is it so common to have poor eyesight? What other aspects of human development suffer so much that seem so important for survival?

It may not be related to nature. I remember reading research on how sunlight and focusing on distant objects is really important for developing proper eyesight. The current issues with eyesight could be a side-effect of spending more time in doors and only staring at things within 20 to 30 ft. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_benefit_of_daylight_for_ou...

30 foot line of sight indoors, more like 1-5 feet for most people working at computers

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#18

Post by zmmmmm »

I'm curious why such a seemingly high value opportunity hasn't attracted massive funding from philanthropy - at that cost a single billionare feeling generous could theoretically eradicate this form of blindness. But more realistically, foundations like Gates or Zuckerberg/Chan with excellent oversight and due diligence could surely jump on something like this and make a huge dent.

Is there something I (we) are missing here?

Re: Tell HN: Did you know that you can help restore a person’s eyesight for $50?

#19

Post by wildzzz »

Recursing wrote: post #12

I'm pretty skeptical of the $50 number. GiveWell thinks it's closer to $1000 (still insanely cheap, but there might be even better opportunities!) https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/ca...

I remember watching some North Korea documentary where an eye surgeon was visiting to do cataract replacements. He set up in some community center and had dozen of people waiting for surgery. It can take about 10 minutes to perform the replacement and you can leave pretty quickly afterwards. It's an amazingly simple surgery that has a massive increase in quality of life for the patient. The only aftercare is an eye patch and drops to increase tear production to help heal the incision. Once a doctor has all the equipment set up, they could easily do a hundred replacements over a few days. Add to the fact that these doctors and nurses are doing work in third world countries where they may be there as volunteers and the price of the surgery is massively reduced.
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