JOIN USThe Lions International Eye Bank, Bengaluru, has collected 2,469 eyes in 2019 and 731 people have pledged their eyes with the bank.
The eye bank works round the clock on all days of the year.
According to data provided by the Lions International Eye Bank, the total blind population of the whole world is 45 million, while India alone has 15 million. India has around 4.6 million corneal blind, and 20,000 fresh corneal blind people are added to this number every year.
More demand
“Although we collect 35,000 donor eyes, we have only 16,000 transplants every year and have not been able to meet the demand of the entire country, leaving a huge gap between demand and supply,” a press release from the eye bank said.
It said among the primary challenges were lack of awareness, lack of motivation and traditional superstition that has over several years plagued eye donation in India.