Bengal lags in cornea collection

After spending years in the dark bowels of a coal mine, the dust, gas and grime were finally taking a toll. At 44, N Majhi, a resident of Burdwan, was still full of life, but the world around him was fading. His eyes were giving out, and finally, things came to such a pass that only a cornea transplant could restore his vision.
His family had given up all hope, but a sliver of hope came from the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology at Medical College Hospital.Majhi underwent a successful cornea grafting surgery in July. Today, he can see the world clearly again.
Like Majhi, many poor corneal blind patients have benefited from eye donations. Doctors and NGOs, however, feel that there is still a lot to be done to push up eye donation figures in the state. West Bengal ranks sixth in India when it comes to eye donations. The biggest hindrance to the movement is lack of awareness, a half-hearted state initiative and poor infrastructure.
"West Bengal has only three fully equipped eye banks-cum-hospitals to carry out cornea transplants Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), Disha in Barrackpore and Sushrut. The state needs at least three to four more such hospitals. A more aggressive government-backed awareness drive is also required," said G Ganesh, executive director of Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI).
"RIO is the only government hospital which is equipped with all the facilities to carry out cornea transplants and provides free treatment," said Dr Chandana Chakrabarti (48), resident medical officer of the eye department at Chittaranjan Hospital.
"Most corneal-blind patients come from far-flung villages and are poor. We have 12 beds and as soon as we get a cornea, we perform the operation. But this wait sometimes stretches to months. The state must develop infrastructure in the districts so that patients can be treated near their hometown itself," said Dr Himadri Datta of RIO.
Disha director Dr Samar Basak also feels that well-equipped centres must be set up in districts. "Districts don't have facility for eye collection. Some collection centres get eyes from Basirhat, Murshidabad, Asansol, etc but even these need to be brought to the city. Often, the time spent in transportation makes the cornea unviable," he said. The eye has to be removed within six hours of death and it is done for free. The process does not even disfigure the face.
Other states have surged ahead because of excellent implementation of Hospital Cornea Retrieval Programme (HCRP). Under this programme, a grief counsellor is posted at hospitals, where about 6-7 deaths occur on an average per day. He suggests eye donation to the bereaved family, said Dr Datta.
"In Bengal, relatives or friends of the deceased do not suggest eye donation. A grief counsellor fills up this lacuna. But here, too, there is no state initiative. NGOs like Swajan and International Eye Bank appoint grief counsellors. They can only afford to pay a paltry sum as honorarium. The state should step in and provide them a stipend," said Dr Datta.
"After Disha started HCRP in 2004 by posting a grief counsellor at R G Kar Hospital, eye donations increased by at least two-and-a-half times. In the 11th five-year plan, the Centre has allocated a substantial budget for eye banking. It will give grant to appoint 10 grief counsellors," said Dr Basak. HCRP was started at Medical College Hospital in 2005 and at M R Bangur Hospital in 2006. "Blood donation initiatives get huge government support but eye donation is neglected," said Malay Ray, general secretary of International Eye Bank, Salt Lake.
The health department though is making efforts to push the drive. "We held meetings in September. Recruitment of grief counsellors is being discussed. Under the National Programme for Control of Blindness, up to Rs 35,000 can be allotted per district for spreading awareness and campaigns have been planned. Eye donation is on the rise; 262 corneas were collected between April to July," said Dr S K Bhowmick, assistant director health service (ophthalmology).