Awareness needed on eye donation

 Kakinada:  The city-based Badam Balakrishna Eye Bank, which has been pioneering the cause of eyesight to the needy particularly among BPL families, has completed 12 years of service.

Started in 2006, the eye bank so far provided eyesight to 3,600 persons both male and female. 

The eye bank collected 4,060 corneas from the donors till the end of April 2018.
Confining its services to East Godavari, the bank collected Rs 2000 to Rs 2,500 from the receiver towards processing charges. The surgeries and fixation will be conducted by various reputed hospitals under the NTR Vaidya Seva (earlier Arogya Sri) with all the care and precaution.

Started with the collection of mere 18 in the year of 2006, the bank could able to reach to 800 cornea collection by 2009. From there onwards, there has been steady rise in the number of donors. 
 
Commenting on the donors’ number, the chairman of the bank, Dr Balakrishna said that more awareness was need of the hour. In the last five years, there had been sharp rise among middle class and educated families over the need of eye (cornea) donations. Among masses, the sentiment and affection over the departed family members still coming in the way of donating the corneas, Dr Balakrishna observed.

Dr Balakrishna clarified that the cornea can be suitable for fixation if donated within four to six hours of demise of a person either male or female.

Those suffering with jaundice, AIDS were not suitable for donation of corneas. “But there is plenty of scope and we have been conducting awareness camps on this aspect,” Balakrishna observed.