‘Eye donation is a noble act, make it a family tradition’ is the message that is conveyed through a short film that was released on Thursday for the general public across government facilities during the eye donation fortnight. Even as the National Eye Donation Fortnight commenced on Thursday (August 25-September 8), officials at the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that the Covid pandemic had led to a gross reduction in eye donation. “However, we are in the recovery phase and several activities have been planned apart from rolling out targets to each state,” Dr Anil Kumar, additional director general, Health Services, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said. According to data from the National Programme for Control of Blindness, about 45,294 donated eyes were collected in 2021-22, two-and-a-half times more than what was collected in 2020-21.
As against the target of 55,000 in 2020-21, the number of donated eyes collected were 17,402 and a total of 11,859 keratoplasty (corneal transplant) procedures were performed. In 2021-22, the target is 60,000 and so far 45,294 donated eyes have been collected and 24,783 keratoplasty procedures performed. In 2019-20, there were 65,417 donated eyes collected and 31,019 keratoplasty procedures performed.
‘Eye donation is a noble act, make it a family tradition’ is the message that is conveyed through a short film that was released on Thursday for the general public across government facilities during the eye donation fortnight. Dr Anil Kumar will administer the pledge to donate eyes and a team from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation will collect the details of the pledged eyes for donation.
As per the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), approximately 10 lakh people are suffering from corneal blindness and waiting for corneal transplants.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) changed the definition of blindness of having vision of 6/60 or lesser in either eye to 3/60 or lesser in 2017. Blindness of 6/60 now comes under the severe visual impairment category. It can, hence, be inferred that 6.8 million people in India have severe visual impairment due to corneal diseases, an official pointed out.
The projections of 2019 survey conducted by NPCB VI and RP Center, AIIMS New Delhi says that non-trachomatous corneal opacity leading to blindness is 7.4 % of the total blind population and 0.8% is the trachomatous corneal opacity. Thus a cumulative 8.2% of the blind population has corneal opacity as a cause. As per NPCBVI estimates, about 30,000 new cases of corneal blindness occur in India annually. The dismal number of eye donations prevents many needy people from seeing as the cumulative number of people waiting for keratoplasty surgery keeps on increasing, officials said.
“By donating your eyes, you enlighten the lives of at least two blind people, making it one of the noblest acts. Every year, around 6.8 million people with corneal blindness in India miss out on the opportunity to regain vision. There is a huge gap between the need and availability of donated tissues which are mainly due to lack of awareness and myths associated with eye donation. This lack of awareness prevents people from donating their eyes. The fact is that any person can pledge their eye which can be donated after their death, irrespective of gender, age, religion or blood group.