Guests, including Joanna Lumley and writer Vikram Seth, gathered for an exclusive trip on the London Eye, followed by a dinner hosted by Shell International Limited. Sight Savers works to prevent and cure avoidable blindness in developing countries. The charity's three millionth patient to receive the vision-restoring operation was a 12-year-old blind boy, Hemaram, from Rajasthan in India, the subject of a BBC documentary (News, April 28). When Sight Savers staff first found Hemaram in his remote village, he had been completely blind for two years and was forced to stay at home, unable to attend school or go out to play with his friends. Sight Savers' support meant that the operation he so desperately needed could finally be carried out at Bisalpur Eye Hospital. 'It is difficult to imagine the incredible impact this simple, 20-minute operation can have on a person who has had to live in darkness - sometimes for many years. A sum as little as &\#163;15 can make that difference,' said Richard Porter, executive director at Sight Savers. This year, a special campaign was launched to combat cataract, in celebration of the charity's 50th anniversary. Sight Savers aims to support more than 200,000 operations in Asia and Africa during 2000.