Aditya Jyot holds eye donation campaign

EHM News Bureau - Mumbai

Aditya Jyot Eye Bank, a part of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Pvt Ltd (AJEH) recently held an eye donation campaign. In an exhibition held at the hospital for two weeks, pledge forms for eye donation were distributed.

Said Dr S Natarajan, medical director, AJEH, “Our intention is to create awareness about the need for eye donation in the country and motivate people to donate eyes to bridge the gap between demand and supply of corneal tissue.”

M Damodaran, chairman, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and D Sivanandan, police commissioner, Thane were the guests of honour on the occasion. The eye bank at AJEH has a qualified team of doctors and medical personnel who collect donated eyes round the clock. The bank had collected more than 50 eyes last year. Eyes are sent to a coordination centre for processing and distribution after collection.

The Government of India has declared August 25th to September 8th as ‘The Eye Donation fortnight’ in memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ever since he pledged his eyes in 1986. There are 15 million cases of corneal blindness out of which 4.6 million are less than 45 years and 60 per cent less than 12 years. The demand for this corneal tissue is far greater than its supply. In India, the current cornea procurement rate is 22, 000 per year.

Over one lakh are blind from bilateral corneal disease. It is learnt that every year 20, 000 new cases are added to the figure. Only 30 percent of Indian population is aware of eye donation and only 0.1 per cent of them have pledged their eyes.