Turning the tide of corneal blindness

Abstract

Corneal diseases represent the second leading cause of blindness in most developing world countries. Worldwide, major investments in public health infrastructure and primary eye care services have built a strong foundation for preventing future corneal blindness. However, there are an estimated 4.9 million bilaterally corneal blind persons worldwide who could potentially have their sight restored through corneal transplantation. Traditionally, barriers to increased corneal transplantation have been daunting, with limited tissue availability and lack of trained corneal surgeons making widespread keratoplasty services cost prohibitive and logistically unfeasible. The ascendancy of cataract surgical rates and more robust eye care infrastructure of several Asian and African countries now provide a solid base from which to dramatically expand corneal transplantation rates. India emerges as a clear global priority as it has the world's largest corneal blind population and strong infrastructural readiness to rapidly scale its keratoplasty numbers. Technological modernization of the eye bank infrastructure must follow suit. Two key factors are the development of professional eye bank managers and the establishment of Hospital Cornea Recovery Programs. Recent adaptation of these modern eye banking models in India have led to corresponding high growth rates in the procurement of transplantable tissues, improved utilization rates, operating efficiency realization, and increased financial sustainability. The widespread adaptation of lamellar keratoplasty techniques also holds promise to improve corneal transplant success rates. The global ophthalmic community is now poised to scale up widespread access to corneal transplantation to meet the needs of the millions who are currently blind.

A Study on Eye Donation Awareness Among Medical and Engineering Students in Puducherry

“…2 The other causes of corneal blindness worldwide include the use of toxic medications, Onchocerciasis and ocular trauma. 5 While this is the global scenario, the National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB) has estimated that a total of 120,000 people are affected by corneal blindness and every year, an additional 25,000-30,000 cases of corneal blindness get added to this alarming number.…”

“…1 Corneal blindness accounts for 12% of the world's blind and India accounts for the majority, thus making it a global priority. 2,3 The number of patients awaiting corneal transplantation is considerably growing in India. Therefore, there is a need for awareness of eye donation in an effort to increase the procurement of donor corneas.…”

The factors effecting the waiting time before corneal transplantation operation

“…Günümüzde özellikle gelişmekte olan ülkelerde olmak üzere tüm dünyada potansiyel olarak korneal transplantasyon ile görmelerini geri kazanabilecek yaklaşık 4.9 milyon bilateral korneal körlük hastası olduğu tahmin edilirken Dünya Sağlık Örgütü verilerine göre 2000 yılında tüm dünyada yaklaşık 120 bin keratoplasti (KP) ameliyatı yapılmıştır 4,5 . Türkiye açı-sından Sağlık Bakanlığı verilerine göre 2012 ve 2013 yılları için rapor edilen KP sayısının sırasıyla 1784 ve 1921 olduğu görülmektedir 6 .…”

Evaluation of central macular thickness after penetrating keratoplasty

“…Corneal disorders are the second most common cause of blindness in developing countries (1). Corneal disorders requiring corneal transplantation (CT) vary from region to region.…”