Karnataka   

Blindness eradication programme from today

Chitradurga: The Basaveshwar Punarjyoti Eye Bank has helped 61 visually challenged people to regain their vision by organising eye donation camps, according to bank president Gayatri Shivaram.

The bank is holding a fortnight-long blindness eradication programme to educate people about eye donation from Saturday.

Talking to presspersons here on Friday, he said that the bank was also able to convince the close relatives of 31 people who died in various parts of district, on the need for eye donation.

Ms. Shivaram said that the members, who had set up the bank were trying to educate people the significance of eye donation and help them eliminate misconceptions surrounding it.

She made it clear that for donating the eyes, it was not required for any person to register his/her name with any eye bank. “By obtaining the permission of close relatives of the deceased, the doctors can remove the cornea to transplant it to a visually challenged person,” she said.

Ms. Shivaram said that the bank was working in association with Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital. The doctors of the hospital were rendering free services in removing the cornea and sending it to Bangalore’s Minto Eye Hospital, which is conducting the transplant free of cost.

Emphasising that time was a crucial aspect in removing the cornea, principal of Basaveshwar Medical College S. Muralidhar said that the eyes could be transplanted only if the cornea could be removed within six hours after the death of a person and further should be transplanted within 72 hours after its removal. He appealed to people to inform the hospital soon after the death of a person, if the relatives wished to donate the eyes.

“The hospital keeps the details of donors and beneficiaries confidential,” he said.

Ms. Shivaram said that the bank as part of the fortnight programme would check the eyes of students of city-based Teekshna Blind School.

Any student, who could be operated upon, would be given priority for transplantation.

She said that over 300 people, including senior officials of the district, had registered their name for eye donation.

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