07 September 2010
EYE donations in the city have witnessed manifold increase over the years, but it is still less than the required number.
At the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 from 10 donations in 2001 the number has increased to 150 a year.
At PGI, around 28 to 30 eye donations take place every month. Last year, a total of 334 donations were made.
Prof Sudesh Kumar Arya, incharge of cornea and eye bank at GMCH says while there has been an increase in the number of people coming forward for eye donation the requirement is more. "There is a need to bring about a nations come in as at times the relatives are not comfortable with the idea," he says.
According to the Eye Bank Association of India, the current cornea procurement rate in the country is 22,000 to 25,000 per year, while the requirement is for around one lakh corneal transplants every year. Around 18.7 million people are blind in India and 1.90 lakh are blind from bilateral corneal disease. Every year around 40,000 people join the list.
There are a number of myths associated with eye donation such a s disfigur
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