Eye donation in North India

1. AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION
REGARDING EYE DONATION
AMONG PEOPLE OF NORTH INDIA

2. INTRODUCTION
• Corneal diseases are a significant cause of visual impairment and
blindness in the developing world.
• The major causes of corneal blindness include trachoma, corneal
ulceration following xerophthalmia due to vitamin A deficiency,
ophthalmia neonatorum, and the use of harmful traditional medicines,
onchocerciasis, leprosy, and ocular trauma.[1-3]

3. • Approximately 18.7 million people are blind[4] in India and 200,000 are
blind from bilateral corneal disease.
• Every year, another 20,000 join the list[5].
• The late Dr. Muthiah started the very first eye bank in India and he
successfully performed the first corneal transplant in 1948.[6]
• Even after more than 50 years, patients waiting for corneal transplants
constitute a considerable backlog, which continues to grow.
• The need, therefore, is to educate the masses about eye donation in an
effort to increase the procurement of corneas.

4. • According to the Eye Bank Association of India, the current cornea
procurement rate in India is 22,000 per year.
• It is estimated that a significant proportion of donor corneas are
unsuitable for corneal transplantation[7].
• Based upon our current ratio of available safe donor eyes, we would
need 277,000 donor eyes to perform 100,000 corneal transplants in a
year in India[8].
• There is approximately a 20-fold increase in the donor eyes available
now through the development of social media, however a shortage of
transplantable corneas is common and has been the subject of much
attention.

5. • To increase procurement of corneas, raising the level of public education
on eye donation is an important first step.
• Soliciting for actual eye donation at the time of death is a necessary and
accepted practice[8].
• Though the factors affecting procurement of corneas and the public
attitude towards eye donation have recently received attention in the
developed world[9], not much has been published from the developing
world.

6. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
S.NO. REFERENCE TITLE INFERENCE
1. Sannapaneni Krishnaiah, Vilas
Kovai, Rishita Nutheti et al.
Indian J Ophthalmol.
2003;52:73-78
Awareness of Eye
Donation in the Rural
Population of India
There needs to be more transfer of
knowledge if more eyes are to be
pledged. One-third of those aware
of eye donation have not pledged
their eyes, and an additional 50.6%
needed more information to
decide. Only about one-fifth of
those aware of eye donations have
pledged their eyes.
2. Anita Gupta, Sudhir Jain, Tanu
Jain et al. Indian J Community
Med. 2009 Apr; 34(2): 122–125.
Awareness and Perception
Regarding Eye Donation in
Students of a Nursing
College in Bangalore
Nursing students were well aware
of eye donations and most of them
were inclined to sign-up for eye
donation.. The nursing students
could be actively involved as
volunteers in eye donation
campaigns and they can act as
counsellors for eye donors. They
can also contribute by participating
in creating awareness and

7. LACUNAE
• Lack of availability of substantial studies on awareness of eye donation
and
willingness to pledge eyes among the people of North India.

8. RESEARCH QUESTION
To evaluate the awareness and willingness of the people to pledge eyes for
donation among the people of North India.

9. AIM
• To evaluate the awareness and perception regarding eye donation
among the people of North India.

10. OBJECTIVES
1. To evaluate the awareness on eye donation based on responses to the
questionnaire on eye donation.
2. To evaluate source of information on eye donation.
3. To evaluate the distribution of perceived reasons for not donating
eyes.

11. MATERIAL AND METHODS
• Place of Study : Department of Ophthalmology ELMC&H, Lucknow
• Study Design : Cross-Sectional Study Design
• Sample Size : 950

12. • INCLUSION CRITERIA :
- Subjects above 15 years of age.
- Subjects should be able to read and write in hindi or English languages.
• EXCLUSION CRITERIA :
- Subjects who are mentally ill.
- Subjects suffering from explicit drug abuse.

13. METHODS
• Questionnaire :
1. Have you heard of eye donation ?
a. Yes
b. No
2. What is the donated eye used for ?
a. To replace the another eye
b. To replace a part of another eye
c. To replace the cornea of another eye
d. Don’t know

14. 3. How did you come to know about eye donation ?
a. Doctor
b. Optometrist
c. Eye camp
d. Family member/ relative/ friend
e. Television/ magazines/ newspaper/ radio/ pamphlets or other media
f. Others

15. 4. Are you wiling do donate your eyes ?
a. I have already pledged to donate my eyes
b. Yes I am willing to donate my eyes
c. No, I am afraid of deformity of the body after death
d. No, I will be born blind in the next birth
e. No, I have an eye problem
f. No, I don’t believe it will be useful
g. I need more information to decide
h. Other reasons

16. 5. Does your religion allow you to donate eyes ?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know
6. Who is eligible for eye donation ?
a. Living
b. Dead
c. Both
d. Don’t know

17. 7. What is the ideal time for eye donation ? (within how many hours of death )
8. Are you willing to receive a transplant if necessary ?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know
9. Will you support a kin if they decide to become eye donars ?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know

18. 10. What are the reasons for donating eyes by donars ?
a. Eye donation is a noble work
b. Pleasure to help the blind
c. Donated eyes can give vision to a person
d. Influenced after reading an article
e. A friend/ relative has donated an eye
f. A friend/ relative has received a donated eye

19. OBSERVATIONS
• The findings of the study shall be based on the observations made on
the patients included in the study and the data shall be compiled.

20. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
• Statistical analysis was done with SPSS (SPSS for Windows, Rel 11.0;
2002. SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) software.
• Inferences are drawn.

21. REFERENCE
• 1. Krishnaiah S, Kovai V, Nutheti R, Shamanna BR, Thomas R, Rao GN.
Awareness of eye donation in the rural population of India. Indian J
Ophthalmol. 2004;52:73–8.
• 2. Dandona L, Dandona R, Naduvilath TJ, McCarty CA, Nanda A, Srinivas
M, et al. Is current eye- care policy focus almost exclusively on cataract
adequate to deal with blindness in India? Lancet. 1998;351:1312–6.
• 3. Rekhi GS, Kulshreshtha OP. Common causes of blindness: A pilot
study in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Indian J Ophthamol. 1991;39:108–11.

22. • 4. Dandona L, Dandona R, John RK. Estimation of blindness in India from
2000 through 2020: Implications for the blindness control policy. Natl
Med J India. 2001;14:327–34.
• 5. Saini JS, Reddy MK, Jain AK, Ravinder MS, Jhaveria S, Raghuram L.
Perspectives in eye banking. Indian J Ophthalmol. 1996;44:47–55.
• 6. Kannan KA. Eye donation movement in India. J Indian Med Assoc.
1999;97:318–9.
• 7. Dandona R, Dandona L, Naduvilath TJ, McCarty CA, Rao GN.
Awareness of eye donation in an urban population in India. Aust N Z J
Ophthalmol. 1999;27:166–9.
• 8. Saini JS. Realistic Targets and Strategies in Eye Banking. Indian J
Ophthalmol. 1997;45:141–2.

23. • 9. Diamond GA, Michael C, Mussoline JF, D'Amico RA. Obtaining consent
for eye donation. Am J Ophthalmol. 1987;103:198–203.