Corneas go waste as Bikaner eye bank lacks preservative
BIKANER: We are exploring other avenues to buy the solution. Some documents are pending and formalities are yet to be fulfilled to get the licence renewed
DR JAI SRI MURLI MANOHAR head of the ophthalmology department at Prince Bijaysingh Memorial (PBM) Hospital
An eye bank run by the Sardar Patel Medical College (SPMC)herehaswasted380outof 470 donated corneas as it lacks a chemical solution used to preservethem,hospitalsourcessaid.
The eye bank has not got the preservative solution for the last five years since it has not renewed its licence. Of the 130 corneascollected during2016-17, only 23 could be transplanted. Thisyear,fivecorneaswereused outof the 42 donated, the sources said.
Medical experts say a cornea canbeextractedwithinsixhours ofadonor’s death butneedstobe immediately transferred to the M-K (McCarey-Kaufman) medium, where it can remain intact for up to four days, before transplant.
TheM-Kmedium,usedtopreserve the corneas, was not supplied by Hyderabad’s Eye Bank Association of India for the last fiveyears.Thebankcannotstore the preservative without a licence, which expired in 2012, and authorities have forgot to renew it, the sources said.
“It (the preservative) is not comingfromoursupplier.Weare exploring other avenues to buy the solution. Some documents are pending and formalities are yettobefulfilled to get thelicence renewed,” said Dr Jai Sri Murli Manohar, head of the ophthalmology department at Prince BijaysinghMemorial(PBM)Hospital and the nodal officer of the eye bank.
“This is unbelievable; an eye bank at medical college level is running without the basic solution and licence. They should honour our sentiments,” said NarendraAcharyawhoinspired his family to donate his younger brother Niranjan’s eyes, but his brother’s last wish went unfulfilled. NGOscreating awareness about eye donation also feel discouraged.Expertssaynearly60% of the donated eye go waste in India. “When the eyes are donated, they either get infected withdiseasesorarenotstoredin eyebanksontime,”MurliManohar said.