Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has stressed the need to create awareness to bridge the demand and supply gap of corneal tissue as the only known treatment to corneal blindness is corneal transplant. Dr Vardhan said this while digitally addressing the 35th National Eye Donation fortnight celebrations organised by AIIMS, New Delhi and the National Eye bank. He said, corneal blindness is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. He said, World Health Organization reports estimate that approximately five per cent of the world population is blind due to corneal diseases alone. He also expressed happiness that eye banking activities have resumed in non COVID-19 hospitals through the Hospital Cornea Retrieval Programme in India. He congratulated the Eye Bank Association of India for coming out with a detailed advisory on precautionary measures with regard to corneal tissue retrieval to ensure maximum safety to the tissue recipients and those handling them.
