Corneal Banking and Transplantation: Setup and How to Encourage People to Donate

Being the text of the Okechukwu Memorial Lecture delivered during the 47th Annual Scientific Conference of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria on 30th August, 2023

Abstract

SUMMARY
Corneal blindness is one of the most important preventable causes of blindness worldwide. India has a 3-tier eye banking system. Setting up an eye bank, requires government permission and certain certificates. Once an eye donation call is received, the cornea is collected after detailed history and examination with consent of relatives. Cornea tissue is collected by different methods and examined thoroughly in eye bank. The eye bank has the responsibility of training the nursing staff and paramedical staff of multispecialty hospitals. Awareness is created to encourage donation and eliminating myths. It is done by different modes. This review article provides a brief overview of the process of setting up an eye bank and promotional activities done by eye bank to encourage eye donation.