Orbis Flying Eye Hospital staff members and guests pose for a group photo with the flying hospital in Hong Kong on Feb 22, 2024. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

The world’s only flying eye hospital, a converted cargo MD-10 equipped with state-of-art facilities for treating patients and teaching medical staff in developing regions, landed in Hong Kong Thursday.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is mainly on show to the media, donors, corporate supporters, volunteers and invited residents during its nine-day stay in the city.

Orbis is a nonprofit organization that aims to prevent and treat blindness. The flying eye hospital, which was first launched in 1982, last visited Hong Kong eight years ago.

Derek Hodkey, CEO of Orbis, said that the flying eye hospital mainly visits developing regions to teach, and treat patients with eye diseases

The interior contains a classroom, operating theater, and recovery room, and is on show to demonstrate how it transforms the lives of those with eye diseases.

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Derek Hodkey, CEO of Orbis, said that the flying eye hospital mainly visits developing regions to teach, and treat patients with eye diseases. He pointed out that the main purpose of this special hospital is not doing as many surgeries as possible, but teaching surgical skills to medical staff in less developed regions.

It also collaborates with hospitals around the world to raise public awareness of eye diseases. Hip Shing Hong is sponsoring its nine-day visit to Hong Kong.

According to Orbis, it has provided more than 400,000 training sessions to healthcare professionals, distributed over 500,000 pairs of corrective eyeglasses to patients, and conducted over 28 million eye screenings for the past nine years. So far, it has carried out 63 sight-saving programs in 11 countries globally through its flying eye hospital.

An Orbis Flying Eye Hospital staff member explains to members of the media the gadgets and operation of the flying hospital on Feb 22, 2024. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

David Fong Man-hung, managing director of Hip Shing Hong, said it has reached a one-year partnership with Orbis, and plans are in hand to stage activities such as sharing eye care knowledge with the public, especially teenagers.

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After its stay in Hong Kong, the flying eye hospital will proceed to Mongolia for around three weeks and then to Bangladesh for about two weeks.

An Orbis Flying Eye Hospital staff member explains an eye operation to members of the media on the flying hospital on Feb 22, 2024. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)