Eye donation gap: More pledges but unmet demand

Despite an increase in the number of people pledging to donate their eyes over the last few years due to heightened awareness, a significant gap still exists between the availability and demand for cornea transplants.

According to estimates from the Lion’s Eye Bank, India needs to gather at least one lakh donations annually to meet the demand. However, post-Covid, the collections have considerably decreased. Bank data reveals that while 56,497 donations were collected across the country in 2019, this number plummeted to as low as 18,359 by 2021. As the situation gradually returned to normal, 32,352 donations were collected in 2022.

“To meet the demands, we need to collect at least one lakh corneas annually. Covid-19 brought down the donations drastically,” a representative of the Lion’s Eye Bank said. 

Dr Nagesh BN, a cornea transplant specialist from Yashoda Nethralaya, emphasised the need to raise awareness that family members can donate the eyes of the deceased even if the individual hadn’t pledged their eyes.

“While awareness has notably increased and individuals are willingly pledging their eyes, the public should also be aware that they can donate the eyes of deceased family members even if no prior pledge was made,” he explained.

Highlighting the consistent rise in demand, Veeresh MPM, manager of Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank operated by Narayana Nethralaya Superspeciality Eye Hospital, said that their hospital registers 5-10 patients for a transplant daily.

“The number of people coming over with untreated allergies that could have affected the cornea and cases of keratoconus among children has increased. However, the number of donations do not match the needs of the patients,” he said. 

Surge in pledges

While donations have remained low, the number of individuals voluntarily pledging their eyes has significantly increased over the past two years. Dr Nagesh suggested that the death of actor Puneeth Rajkumar and his eye donation inspired many to pledge.

The response was so overwhelming that the Dr Rajkumar Eye Bank, which had received around 76,000 pledges since its establishment in 1993, obtained nearly 1.27 lakh pledges in less than two years after the actor’s demise.

“Now, the heightened awareness and interest in pledging have reached rural areas,” Veeresh added.

The period from August 25 to September 9 is celebrated as Eye Donation Fortnight.