Eye donation and pledging in Karnataka got a big boost in the last year following Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s donation that gave the gift of sight to four people.
Narayana Nethralaya, that runs the Dr. Rajkumar Eye Bank, recorded a huge spike, receiving over 85,000 eye pledges since the late actor’s eye donation on October 29 last year.
“We have collected 2,250 eyes since October last year of which only 96 were before the late actor’s donation. The numbers are higher than the pre-COVID-19 period and are increasing day by day. Before the pandemic, annual eye collection ranged between 1,200 to 1,500,” K Bhujang Shetty, chairman and managing director of Narayana Nethralaya, told The Hindu on Saturday.
“While we had seen a total of around 65,000 pledges in the 28 years of the eye bank’s existence, a whopping 85,000 pledges have been recorded in the last one year alone since Puneeth’s demise. Over 80% of these pledges are online through our missed call facility. We have launched an exclusive number - 8884018800 - through which people who wish to pledge their eyes can register their names,” the doctor said.
Following in the footsteps of his father Dr. Rajkumar, the family of Puneeth Rajkumar donated his eyes on the day of his demise. Soon after he was declared dead, Puneeth Rajkumar’s brother Raghavendra called Dr. Rajkumar Eye Bank to collect the actor’s eyes. Dr. Rajkumar had pledged the eyes of his entire family during the inaugural function of the eye bank in 1994.
Limbal stem cells
The late actor’s eye donation may also help many regain their vision in the future. Dr Shetty said the limbal stem cells have been cultured and preserved to treat people with limbal stem cell deficiency who may lose vision due to eye injuries such as cracker burns, chemical and acid burns. The hospital has not yet found an eligible recipient.
“Usually, two corneas from a deceased individual are transplanted into two corneal blind patients. But, we went out of our way to use Puneeth’s corneal tissues to the maximum to help four patients to honour the contributions made by his family,” Dr. Shetty explained. “The corneas were sliced and transplanted in four corneal blind patients by separating the superior and deeper layers of the cornea. While the superior layer was transplanted in two patients, who had superficial corneal disease, the deeper layer was transplanted in patients with endothelial or deep corneal layer disease.”
Demand-supply gap
Dr. Shetty said there is a huge demand-supply gap in eye donations. “Corneal blindness can be treated only through transplantation from eye donations as there is no substitute for human tissue. Although an average of 57,000 eyes are collected across India annually, there are approximately 15 lakh corneal blind people who are in need of transplant in the country,” he said.
According to the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment, nearly 20,000 people are detected with corneal blindness every year. “In Bengaluru alone, there are close to 300-400 deaths per day but out of these, less than eight eyes are collected,” the doctor said.
