Hyderabad, Sep 04: Over 2 million Indians are affected by corneal blindness, 60% of them below the age of 12. A person’s cornea may turn opaque due to corneal disease, injury or infection, resulting in corneal blindness.
Untreated corneal blindness results in complete vision loss, resulting in increased Years Lived with Disability, adding to the emotional and economic strain on the family and community.
Corneal transplantation is the only known cure for corneal blindness. Consequently, the need for a significant number of eye donations. Lack of awareness, along with myths and fears associated with eye donation are keeping these numbers considerably low. The current number of corneal donations in India, only meet the needs of one-fourth of the patients.
Dr Sunita Chaurasia,Medical Director, Ramayamma International Eye Bank, Kallam Anji Reddy Campus, Hyderabad, emphasized this gap during the commencement of the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight and said,
“Eye donation can happen only after the death of a person and consent from family members is mandatory. Therefore, it is equally important for persons pledging their eyes, to inform their family members and request them to honour their wishes after their passing”.
Cornea collection at LVPEI happens through voluntary donations by the deceased families, at the partner hospitals through the Hospital-based Cornea Retrieval Program. A dedicated team of the grief counsellors and cornea recovery technicians from the eye banks are stationed at the partner hospitals and hospitals that are part of the HCRP. The grief counsellor approaches the family of the deceased, for eye donation, based on suitability on medical grounds. and motivate them to donate the eye/cornea. The support from partner HCRP hospitals is crucial for corneal donation.
Since 1989, the LVPEI Eye Bank Network has successfully collected over 1,70,626 donor corneas. In addition to utilizing these corneas for corneal transplant surgeries within the LVPEI network, the institute also distributes corneas to surgeons outside the LVPEI network, thereby extending the impact of their efforts. LVPEI is India’s largest provider of sight-restoring corneas, significantly reducing wait time for corneal transplantations.
The LVPEI Eye Bank Network comprises of state-of-the-art eye bank facilities at its Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Kadapa campuses.
-The Ramayamma International Eye Bank, Kallam Anji Reddy Campus, Hyderabad: Established in 1989, the eye bank has harvested over 1,23,802 corneas since its inception and distributed over 71,154 corneas.
-The Drushti Daan Eye Bank, Mithu Tulsi Chanrai Campus, Bhubaneswar: Established in 2002, the eye bank has harvested over 21,795 corneas since its inception and distributed over 18,123 corneas.
-The Mohsin Eye Bank, GMR Varalakshmi Campus, Visakhapatnam: Established in 2001, the eye bank has harvested over 16,573 corneas since its inception and distributed over 9217 corneas.
-The TK Eye Bank, Kode Venkatadri Chowdary Campus, Vijayawada: Established in 2016, the eye bank has harvested over 8117 corneas since its inception and distributed over 4560 corneas.
-The Infosys Foundation Eye Bank, R S Rajasekhar Campus, Kadapa: Established in 2025, the eye bank has harvested over 339 corneas since its inception and distributed over 128 corneas.
To commemorate the 41st Eye Donation Fortnight, the L V Prasad Eye Institute organized a series of activities from August 25 – September 8, to create public awareness about the importance of eye donation, and to motivate people to pledge their eyes for donation, after death.
