Know about Corneal Blindness and Eye Donation

What is Cornea?

Clear transparent dome infront of the black portion of the eye which focuses rays of light on the retina. Like a window it allows the light to enter the eye.

What is Corneal blindness?

When speaking with optometrists, they’ll say that corneal blindness is a loss of Corneal transparency due to scarring or cloudiness , causing marked loss of vision.

Causes of Corneal Blindness:

1. Injuries to the eye
2. Birth defects
3. Vitamin A deficiency – Xerophthalmia
4. Malnutrition- Diarrhea ( Dry eyes causing scarring of cornea) should not be underestimated.
5. Infections- Keratoconjunctivitis, Infective Corneal Ulcers
6. Chemical burns
7. Congenital disorders
8. Complications of eye surgery.

What is Corneal Transplantation?

Surgical procedure which replaces a disc shaped segment of an impaired cornea with a similarly shaped piece of a healthy Donor Cornea.

Who can Donate eye?

Eyes can be donated only after death by anyone including-

• Cataracts, poor eye sights and age do not prohibit you
• Diabetics
• Patient with high Blood pressure.
• Asthma patients

Who Cannot donate eye?

• HIV/AIDS
• Hepatitis B,C
• Rabies
• Syphillis
• Death due to unknown causes

Procedures to follow by relatives of Deceased, for Corneal donation

1. Close the eyelids of the deceased.
2. Switch of the fan
3. Raise the head of the deceased slightly  by placing a pillow underneath
4. In the event of death , contact the nearest eye hospital as quickly as possible
5. Give the correct address with telephone number to enable the eye-bank team to locate the place easily
6. If the Death Certificate from Doctor is available keep it ready.
7. Eye donation can be done only with the written consent of the Next of Kin in the presence of two witness

FACTS ABOUT EYE DONATION

• Eyes can be donated only after death.
• Eyes must be removed within 4-6 hrs after death
• The eye bank team will remove the eyes from the deceased in the hospital.
• Eye removal does not delay the funeral. It takes only 15-20 minutes
• A small quantity of blood will be drawn to rule out communicable disease
• Eye Retrieval does not cause disfigurement
• Identities of both the Donors and Recipients s will be kept confidential.

Prevalence of Corneal Blindness:

According to the Nepal Blindness Survey, 1981, Corneal trauma and Ulceration are leading cause of Unilateral vision loss after Cataract, accounting for 7.9% of all blind eyes.

Corneal Ulcer is the leading cause of Corneal blindness in Nepal.

Credit  and Contact : Leaflet desined by

BP Koirala Lions Centre for Ophthalmic Studies,
TUTH, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu.
Phone no- 4720668, 4720694,4720695
Eye Bank Technician- 9841447215