In 2018, the centre crossed 2,000 in corneal tissue collection — the highest in the last 50 years — as 2,234 donor corneas were retrieved . (File)The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), along with IIT-Delhi, is considering a project to transport cornea tissues from far-flung areas to eye banks and vice-versa using drones. The initiative, ideated by doctors at Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, is at a nascent stage and will take time to be completely implemented.
“We are planning to develop a drone system in which the cornea tissues can be transported to peripheral areas. It is one of the most important schemes for the future, wherein we can get a trained technician to pick up the specimens and get them to the eye bank. In areas with poor connectivity, this system will get us through to the patient,” said Dr J S Titiyal, Head of Cornea Services at RP Centre and Chairman of the National Eye Bank.
AIIMS’s National Eye Bank (NEB) has collected 29,000 corneas till date and rehabilitated over 20,000 corneal blind patients from all over the country by means of corneal transplantation. In 2018, the centre crossed 2,000 in corneal tissue collection — the highest in the last 50 years — as 2,234 donor corneas were retrieved .
“In 2018, a total of 1,426 blind patients received the corneal transplant—a utilisation rate of 65%, which is greater than the national average. In many states, inter-state transportation of tissues cannot be done. In states like West Bengal and Rajasthan, we are pushing for a single registration portal and single distribution scheme, so the tissues can be transported accordingly,” added Dr Titiyal. There are more than 760 institutional members (Eye Banks and Eye Donation Centres) registered with the Eye Bank Association of India. But it is not enough. “Only 2% of those 760 eye banks are actively functioning,” said Dr Namrata Sharma, Secretary Eye Bank Association of India and Professor of Opthalmology at RP centre.
Another project expected to start by the end of this year is to have an application-based programme to track the patients’ progress before and after surgeries.
