Sanduk Ruit (Nepali: सन्दुक रूइत, pronounced [ˈsʌnduk rui̯t], born September 4, 1954) is an ophthalmologist from Nepal who was involved to restore the sight of over 180,000 people[1] across Africa and Asia using small-incision cataract surgery.

His village of 200 people was located 11,000 feet above the sea level on the lap of the world's third-highest peak, Mt.

It is one of the most remote regions of Nepal with no electricity, school, health facilities or modern means of communication, and lies blanketed under snow for six to nine months a year.

Ruit's family made a subsistence living from small agriculture, petty trading and livestock farming.

In many interviews, Ruit has said that this loss made a strong mark on him and instilled in him a resolve to become a doctor and work for the poor who would not otherwise have access to healthcare.

[8] His father, a small-time businessman, sent Ruit to St Robert's School in Darjeeling at the age of seven, and provided financial support for his early medical career.

Later he wanted to specialize in ophthalmology, so he continued his studies from 1981 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi with a scholarship and achieved his Master's Degree.

Tilganga has performed over 100,000 operations and trained over 500 medical personnel from around the world, and produces Ruit's intraocular lenses at a cost of less than US $5 each.

[3] For those unable to reach the center, or who live in otherwise isolated rural areas, Ruit and his team set up mobile eye camps, often using tents, classrooms, and even animal stables as makeshift operating rooms.

[20] In March 2021, the foundation conducted its first microsurgical outreach camp in the Lumbini region of Nepal, where it screened 1,387 patients and cured 312 of blindness.