A cornea belonging to cyclist Cliff Micallef, who was killed in a road accident at the Bahar ic-Caghaq coast road this morning, is to be donated, Mr Micallef's wife Shirley had confirmed. The other cornea cannot be donated because of the trauma suffered when Mr Micallef was hit by a car while cycling at about 5 a.m.

Mr Micallef had an donor card, but organs from his body cannot be donated because he died on the road and organ deterioration started immediately owing to lack of oxygen. The cornea is a tissue, not an organ.

Mr Micallef had been training for the Lifecycle Challenge, which will this year see cyclists pedal from Istanbul to Damascus to raise funds for the renal unit at Mater Dei Hospital. Another purpose of the Lifecycle Challenge is to promote organ donations.

Transplant Coordinator Tony Bugeja, one of the organisers of the Lifecycle Challenge, said when contacted that the Challenge would go ahead as planned but would be dedicated to Mr Micallef.

"His death is a major blow to Lifecycle. Besides cycling, Cliff helped in the organisation of the challenge and this year he was to be a bike mechanic."

Mr Bugeja complained that drivers in Malta showed less respect to cyclists than was the case abroad. Although respect had improved over the years, so had the volume of traffic and any improvement had therefore been neutralised, he said.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090730/local/cyclist-killed-at-bahar-ic-caghaq

http://www.timesofmalta.com/blogs/view/20090731/betfair-lifecycle-challenge-2009/cliff-micallef-1964-2009