Patna: Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) has achieved a major milestone in eye care, with its eye bank successfully performing 300 corneal transplant surgeries in the last three years, restoring vision to hundreds of patients across Bihar.Hospital authorities said the eye bank has received 205 eye donations so far and harvested 406 corneas. Of these, 300 were used for successful transplant procedures. However, demand continues to outpace availability, with 297 patients currently on the waiting list for corneal transplants.PMCH superintendent Dr Rajiva Kumar Singh said more people need to come forward and pledge eye donation to help reduce the backlog of patients awaiting treatment. “Corneal blindness is the second most common cause of preventable blindness in India. We appeal to people to pledge eye donation,” he said.As part of Eye Donation Fortnight awareness activities, PMCH organised several programmes, including a blindfold walk aimed at helping participants understand the challenges faced by visually impaired people in their daily lives.Citing data from the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), Dr Singh said 69,848 corneal transplants were performed across the country during 2024-25. However, experts estimate that India requires nearly 100,000 corneal transplants annually. With a utilisation rate of around 50%, at least 200,000 donated corneas are needed every year to clear the waiting list.According to health experts, nearly 3 lakh children in India are born with corneal blindness. A recent survey also found that 68 lakh people suffer from blindness in one eye due to corneal damage, while 13 lakh have corneal blindness in both eyes caused by infections, diseases or serious injuries acquired after birth.PMCH authorities stressed that greater awareness about posthumous organ donation and netradaan remains crucial to increasing cornea donations and helping more patients regain sight.
