Patna: The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) received eye donations from two donors on Tuesday.
However, the donated eyes would be used for research and educational purposes and not for corneal transplant because the donors were suffering from illness because of which their donated eyes cannot be used for transplant, said hospital doctors.
IGIMS ophthalmology department doctor Gyan Bhaskar said: "Family members of Patna-city based Saroj Dugar contacted us with the help of social activist Mukesh Hissariya around 12noon to extract her corneas. Our team comprising Santosh Kumar Thakur, Amit and Ajay Kumar, completed the cornea extraction procedure by 2pm. Dugar died following a gallbladder cancer. She was 55. We would keep her corneas at the eye bank but for research and educational purposes because carcinoma patients' organs cannot be used for transplant because there is a possibility that the cancer might spread to other organs."
The IGIMS also received cornea of another patient, Pramila Devi, 50, from the hospital. She died of a cardiac arrest.
"Devi was suspected to be suffering from tuberculosis. Her corneas would also be used for research and educational purposes," Bhaskar said.
He expressed happiness over the increase in eye donations from outside the hospital.
"Earlier, 99 per cent of eye donations, which we were receiving were from the hospital, while only one per cent was from outside the hospital. Now, we are getting more eye donations from outside. This shows that the awareness level has increased among people," he added.
Bhaskar requested people that if anybody is willing to donate eyes they should contact the hospital authorities without wasting time.
"Cornea should be extracted within six hours of death. Only then it can be used for corneal transplant surgeries," he said, adding that the medium IGIMS was using, corneas could be preserved only for 96 hours after the extraction of the corneas.
According to the head of the ophthalmology department of the hospital, Bibhuti Prasad Sinha, so far the hospital has performed around 200 corneal transplant surgeries.
