Two babies born at Algeciras hospital without eyes

The Punta de Europa Hospital in Algeciras (photo: file) has reported that two babies were born in recent weeks with what is known as ocular agenesis, a genetic disorder that prevents development in full or in part of the eyes and /or sockets in a faetus. The babies were born to different parents at different times. The defect is very rare, affecting 1 in 20,000 births world wide, and therefore offering little if any research. It is also very difficult to detect during normal prenatal checks. The father of one of the babies asked for a full investigation on the subject when he found out that two cases of the rare disorder had occured at the hospital within a short time. By coincidence, the families live within a kilometre of each other. This is the first time any such case has happened at Punta de Europa in the 32 years of its existence.