One of them was 22-year old Hasnain from Sonipat.

When he was 20, he met with an accident and lost his eyesight.

'Life after the accident was not less than a challenge. I died every day, but I was helpless and could not do anything but surrender to my fate,' said Hasnain.

For him, it was a miracle when he came to know that doctors have answers to his prayers.

'I can see now. I can enjoy the colours of life. I thank the doctors at the hospital for this. Life now has a meaning,' he added.

Many openly cried when they met and talked to those who have benefited from their generosity. Many also shared how difficult it was for them to come to a decision on donating the eyes of their loved ones. But now they are proud of their decision.

'A few of my family members protested against my decision of donating my mother's eyes. I managed to convince them that if those eyes can be of help to anybody, then why waste them,' said Rishi Dev Goel, a resident of Rohini.

Said S.C. Gupta, director of the Venu Eye Institute: 'In India, there are about 10 million people who suffer from corneal blindness and with only 243 eye banks in the country eye donation meets only five percent of the demand.'

'India needs to generate two million donors every year to address this backlog,' he added.

According to a report of the World Health Organisation, India accounts for 25 percent of the global burden of blindness in the world and states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir have an even higher rate of blindness.