The National Eye Donation Fortnight is observed every year from 25th August to 8th September to create public awareness about the importance of eye donation, and to motivate people to pledge their eyes for donation after death. Throughout the year, and more specifically, during this fortnight, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) organizes a series of activities across its network centres to raise awareness about eye donation among the public. The aim is to ensure that the availability of quality corneal tissue does not remain a barrier in tackling corneal blindness.
Corneal disease is a major cause of blindness in India. Of the 10 million blind in India, over 2 million Indians are affected by corneal blindness – 60% of them are below the age of 12. This could be due to corneal disease, injury or infection. Corneal transplantation is the only known cure for corneal blindness, which is made possible by the donation of healthy corneas by individuals upon their death.
The Ramayamma International Eye Bank at LVPEI Hyderabad is the largest provider of sight-restoring corneas in India that has largely impacted the reduction in wait-times for cornea transplantation, and in 2019 achieved the milestone of crossing the one-lakh mark in cornea collection. In addition to using the corneas for performing corneal transplant surgeries within the LVPEI network, the institute also distributes corneas to surgeons outside the LVPEI network. 40% of the corneas distributed throughout India for sight-restoring corneal transplant surgeries last year were provided by the LVPEI Network Eye Banks.
Only an eye donation from a deceased person can help restore the sight of a corneally blind person. Lack of awareness, myths and fears associated with eye donation are responsible for people not donating their eyes. The current cornea collection in India is able to cater to only one-fourth of the patients in need of corneal transplant surgeries. The magnitude of corneal blindness is huge and its adverse impact on a nation is even bigger.
'We urge people to come forward and pledge for eye donation. Equally important is that the person pledging shares their pledge, and will to donate their eyes, with their family members, and request them to execute the same after their death. Eye donation can happen only after the death of a person and consent from their family members. By donating eyes, we can gift sight to someone not able to see, and keep the memory of the deceased person alive,' says Dr Sunita Chaurasia, Medical Director – The Ramayamma International Eye Bank, L V Prasad Eye Institute.
Busting some of the common myths and fears associated with eye banking:
Is it safe to donate eyes during COVID times?
Yes, provided the needed safety measures and best practices are followed.
Who can be a cornea donor?
Anyone across any age group can donate their eyes after death. Even people with diabetes, asthma, hypertension, who had undergone cataract surgery in addition to persons wearing spectacles, can also donate eyes.
Can a COVID infected person donate eyes?
Yes, provided the person has recovered from COVID infection and the cause of death is not active COVID infection or its complications.
Is the whole eye removed for getting the cornea?
No. Only the thin transparent layer in front of the iris called the cornea is removed. The eyeball remains intact.
Will donating eyes disfigure the face?
As the eyeball remains intact even after removing the cornea, removal of the cornea does not cause any disfigurement.
How quickly should the corneas be removed after death?
Corneas should be removed within 9 hours of death.
Is it necessary to take the deceased/donor to the hospital for eye donation?
The eye bank team will go to the donor’s residence or the hospital (where the death occurs) and will perform the corneal excision (removal).
Will the donor family know the identity of the recipient?
No. The donor-recipient information is kept strictly confidential.
Does the donor family receive any fees?
No. It is illegal to buy or sell human eyes, organs or tissues. The entire cost of cornea retrieval is borne by the eye bank.
Do religious authorities approve of eye donation?
Yes, all religious faiths support this.
Are all corneas fit for corneal transplantation?
Corneas of persons suffering from AIDS, Jaundice, Rabies, Syphilis, Tetanus, Septicemia and viral diseases are considered unfit for transplant.
Are potential donors screened for contagious diseases?
Yes, only corneas from donors free of contagious diseases are used for transplantation.
What happens to corneas that are not used for surgery?
These corneas are used for research on eye diseases and surgical training related to eye surgeries.
Corneal blindness: As long as the cornea remains transparent, light can pass through it and a person can see. Sometimes the cornea becomes opaque or cloudy (when damaged) or loses its transparency following trauma, infection or other diseases. A person with an opaque cornea cannot see, this condition is known as corneal blindness.
Corneal Transplantation: A corneal blind person can see again through a surgical procedure known as corneal transplantation whereby the damaged cornea is replaced by a healthy cornea from a deceased donor.
About LVPEI Eye Bank Network: In addition to the eye bank at its Hyderabad campus, LVPEI also has eye banks at its Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada campuses. Cornea collection at LVPEI happens through voluntary donations by the deceased families, partner centres and the Hospital Cornea Retrieval Program (HCRP). In the HCRP an eye donation counsellor is placed in the multi-disciplinary hospitals and approaches the deceased family for eye donation. The counsellor screens the deceased person for suitability on medical grounds and approaches the deceased family and motivate for eye donation.
About LVPEI: Established in 1987, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. The Institute has ten active arms to its areas of operations: Clinical Services, Education, Research, Vision Rehabilitation, Rural and Community Eye Health, Eye Banking, Advocacy and Policy Planning, Capacity Building, Innovation and Product Development. The LVPEI Eye Care Network has 236 Centres spread across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka in India. The institute's mission is to provide equitable and quality eye care to all sections of society. The LVPEI’s five-tier ‘Eye Health Pyramid’ model covering all sections of society right from the villages to the city, provides high quality and comprehensive - prevention, curative and rehabilitation – eye care to all. It has served over 32.11 million (3 crore 21 lakh people), over 50% of them entirely free of cost, irrespective of the complexity of care needed.