The National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) was launched in India in 1976 with the objective of promoting eye banking activities. The goals are to reduce blindness prevalence and establish infrastructure to meet annual new blindness cases. Eye banks are non-profit organizations that collect, store, and distribute corneas for transplantation, research, and supplying other eye tissues. They have medical and administrative sections and require facilities, trained staff, and a nationwide network for optimal corneal utilization. Consent from next of kin is required for eye donation which helps restore vision through transplantation.

1. NPCB AND EYE BANK

2. NPCB
National programme for control of blindness
India was the first country to launch the National Programme
for Control of Blindness (NPCB) in 1976,
The objective of scheme is to promote eye banking activity in
the country through government facilities
Goals
• To reduce the prevalence of blindness
• To establish an infrastructure and efficiency levels in the
programme to be able to cater new cases of blindness each year to
prevent future backlog.

3. OBJECTIVES
• To establish eye care facilities for every 5 lakh population,
• To develop human resources for eye care services at all levels
the primary health centres, CHCs, sub-district levels,
• To improve quality of service delivery and
• To secure participation of civil society and the private sector.
NGOs to get adequate tissue for corneal transplantation for
treatment of corneal blindness

4. EYE BANK
It is A non profit community organization which deals with
the collection , storage , & distribution of cornea for the
purpose of corneal grafting , research & supply of the other
eye tissues for the other purposes.

5. Structure
Administrative Section:
Eye Donation Counsellor / Social Worker / Health Educator / Clerk
Medical section : Medical Director
( A qualified Corneal Surgeon), Trained Para medical technicians

6. Medical section
Medical section deals with the entire technical operation of the
eye bank:
Tissue harvesting,
Tissue evaluation,
Tissue preservation,
Tissue distribution

7. Administrative Section
The administrative section is responsible for -
Public awareness programmes
- Liaison with government, local voluntary and
other health care agencies
- Fund raising

8. Eye Bank Networking
1. Eye banks under the umbrella of a national
organisation( e.g. Eye Bank Association of India)
allows
2. Public education programmes
3. Institution of newer eye banking procedures
4. Training programmes and development of
uniform medical standards

9. Requirements
Communication facilities( telephone)
• Equipments such as slit lamp and laminar flow hood, surgical
instruments, sterilisation facilities, serology laboratory,
preservation media and appropriate transportation system.
• Round the clock coverage by fully trained technicians
• Nationwide network to facilitate optimal utilisation of all
corneas.

10. Pledge and Consent
1. Family pledge for eye donation
2. Consent from the next of kin
Problems of Eye Banking
1. Information and accessibility
2. Medical issues/ contraindication
3. Climatic factors
4. Cultural and religious issues

11. Family pledge for eye donation
1. Eyes should be donated within 6-8 hrs. of
death.
2. Only the cornea is used for transplant.
3. Total removal time is about 15-20 minutes.
Spectacle wearers, hypertensive, cataract
operated and diabetics can also donate.

12. EYE DONATION – FACTS
1. Call the nearest Eye Bank
2. Switch OFF fans of the rooms
3. Keep ACs ON.
4. Place wet cotton on closed eyes of the donor.
5. Raise the head with a pillow.

13. WHO CAN DONATE EYES
• Age - NO BAR for Eye Donation
• Any Gender can donate eyes
• Families can donate the eyes of their dear
departed even if it has NOT been pledged before
• All religions endorse the practice of eye
donation

14. WHO CAN’T DONATE EYES
People suffering from:
Hepatitis
AIDS
Encephalitis
Rabies
Septicemia (bacteremia ,fungemia ,viremia)
Retinoblastoma
Leukemia
Lymphoma
End stage cancer
Creutzfeldt-Jakob syndrome Consult with your physician if you are fit
to be a donor

15. AFTER DONATION
1 The donor’s family receive a certificate of
appreciation from the Eye Bank.
2 Eyes are evaluated at the Eye Bank and only the
ones deemed suitable are used for transplant.
Others are used for research and education.
3 Corneal transplantation should be done within
2 – 3 days post-removal.
4 Recipients are notified on a first come first serve
basis from the registry.

16. Thank you