However, the need for donor tissue substantially exceeds its availability. India has made considerable progress in eye banking; the country currently has 396 functional eye banks, and corneal collections increased from 62,370 in 2022–23 to 69,848 in 2024–25. There are approximately 2 million corneally blind people in our country, but only 40,000 corneal transplants performed per year.
Eye donation is said to be one of the most meaningful forms of donation, as a single donor can potentially restore sight to two individuals through corneal transplantation.
The government has a crucial role in strengthening the eye donation ecosystem through the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI). Government support includes funding for eye bank infrastructure and equipment, training of ophthalmologists and eye bank technicians, promotion of eye donation, and provision of corneal storage media. Government hospitals can further improve donation rates by establishing Hospital Cornea Retrieval Programmes (HCRP) and integrating eye donation into routine end-of-life counselling. (Dr. Mohan Rajan is chairman and medical director and Dr. Sujatha Mohan is executive medical director, of Rajan Eye Care Hospital. [email protected])
