NOBLE MISSION: Executive director of EBAI G. Ganesh (left) and trustee of Delara Foundation Satish Modi displaying a special tri-lingual calendar. — Photo: K.R. Deepak

VISAKHAPATNAM: Propagation of eye donation through celebrities and religious leaders is necessary to break the misconceptions relating to organ transplant in the country, executive director of the Eye Banks Association of India (EBAI) G. Ganesh said here on Tuesday.

Addressing a meeting organised by Eye Banks Association of India in association with the Delara Tourism Corporation Limited to discuss the various aspects of eye donation in the country, he stressed the need to spread awareness on the procedures pertaining to eye donation.

A majority of the 11-lakh people waiting for corneal transplant were children, he noted.

Availability

More efforts are needed to be made in order to bridge the gap between the availability and the need for corneal transplant.

"The death of a member is no doubt a time of grief for the family.

But the family members need to be counselled that by organ donation they would be benefiting more than just one person," he said.

Counsellors

Appointing counsellors in hospitals with an intricate understanding of organ donation was also stressed to give guidance and support to family members to take decisions.

In an effort to spread awareness, Eye Banks Association of India has come out with special tri-lingual New Year calendars with eye donation messages for free distribution in Andhra Pradesh.

"An important aspect highlighted in the calendar is the toll-free help line number changed from 1919 to 1053," said social activist and trustee of Delara Foundation, Satish Modi.

Ninety-five per cent of the population was unaware of eye donation and the remaining 5 per cent would refer to it only in drawing room discussions, he said.

Tackling the problem

Chairman of the Mohsin Eye Bank R. Ahikrishna spoke on tackling the problem at the grass-root level in rural areas of the country.

"Another commonly faced problem is the lack of trained ophthalmologists in the rural areas to carry out these procedures properly," he said.

Family consent is a mandatory requirement in organ donation, he added.

Secretary of Mohsin Eye Bank A.V.N. Chetty, founder of the Eye Bank Kasim S. Mehdi, doctors and other city eye bank representatives also participated in the programme.

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