Srinagar, July 22 (KNS): Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today expressed serious concern over non-availability of corneal (eye) transplantation facility in JK hospitals as a result of which patients suffer.
In a statement issued to KNS, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan said while eye transplants have transferred the lives of blind, but in JK they continue to suffer.
Hundreds of people in recent civil unrest have been blinded and some of them might need transplants to restore their vision.
Ocular trauma is one of the major causes of corneal blindness and the only viable option for them is corneal transplantation.
JK hospitals lack equipments, infrastructure and trained staff for eye transplantation.
There are no eye banks which are critical for retrieval and storage of eyes from brain dead donors.
By not having eye transplant facility, patients are deprived of ‘Right to Sight’.
Patients are referred outside state and majority of them cannot afford.
Corneal transplantation is a simple outpatient procedure where damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by corneal tissue of a deceased.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The prognosis for visual restoration with transplant is excellent and studies have revealed success rate of 95% to 99%.
The majority of corneal transplants result in significant improvement in visual function for a life-time.
Despite legal and religious support for organ donation no serious efforts were made to generate awareness among people to encourage them for organ donation which is central to eye transplantation.
Under section-13 of JK transplantation of Human Organs Act-1997, state is obligatory to establish required number of eye banks with all the facilities.
But so far government has failed to create such a facility even after 17 years of the enactment of act.
Over 100,000 procedures of corneal transplant are performed worldwide each year.
Among 15 million blind people in India, 6.8 million suffer from corneal blindness and they can be benefitted by corneal transplant. (KNS)