Sixteen people whose eyes were allegedly damaged by Ortho-K (OK) contact lenses are to be funded 100,000 yuan (US$12,100) from the China Consumer's Association to help them sue dealers and, possibly, manufacturers.

It follows complaints by the users, all of whom are students aged between nine and 22 years old from 11 provinces and municipalities, that their eyes hurt after wearing Ortho-K contact lenses.

They claimed the lenses caused bacterial infection and eye diseases such as cornea ulcer.

Some almost lost their eyesight as a result. In one case dating from July 1999, a high school student in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province began to use OK lens which cost her 3,000 yuan (US$363).

But three months later, Zhao Ling’s eyes became red and swollen which doctors diagnosed as damage to the cornea of her right eye. Despite an immediate operation she still lost sight in that eye.

Four victims have already launched legal proceedings against the dealers and manufacturers of the lenses while the other 12 are planning to do so, according to the China Consumers’ Association.

The money the association provided will come from a special legal aid fund, which it set up last March. This is the first time the fund has been used. The main sources of the fund are donations from enterprises and individuals.

OK lenses are a non-invasive method of correcting nearsightedness. Non-invasive treatment means it does not involve surgery or the use of hypodermic needles.

An invisible glass has a special reverse geometrical design, which corrects errors of refraction by changing the radian - the angle at the center of the cornea.

The medical institutions involved in such services must be well equipped with necessary instruments, and with procedures strictly standardized.

However, most institutions do not meet that requirement. In recent years, OK lenses have been put into wide clinical use in China. Currently there are up to 20,000 wearers of OK lenses, mostly students.

This has dismayed experts who pointed out that the clinical use of the OK lens was still in its preliminary stage and should be given proper attention.

(China Daily 07/23/2001)