------------------------------------------------------------------------ * * * * * * * * * ANNUAL GOANETTERS MEET * * * * * * * * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goanetters in Goa and visiting meet Jan 6, 2009 at 3.30 pm at Hotel Mandovi (prior to the Goa Sudharop event, which you're also welcome to). Join in for a Dutch dinner -- if we can agree on a venue after the meet. RSVP (confirmations only) 9822122436 or 2409490 or [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Need for Eye Bank EDITORIAL Posted on 2009-01-03 GOODNESS is rare in this era of selfishness. By donating his eyes to visually impaired persons Prof Kashinath Kelekar, who was principal of the Government Polytechnic, has set an example we need to follow. More and more corneal transplant needs to be done as the list of waiting recipients is long. Perhaps then Goa's premier medical institution, GMC can step in and we need not depend on eye banks outside the state. Today vision restoration through corneal grafting is possible for blind people and so we have seen a sustained multi-pronged drive to raise awareness for eye donations and corneal transplants. Goa's key public institution, the GMC should play an important part in making this wider and popular in the state. The state government needs to modify the population criteria and prepare adequate number of trained hands to make the campaign successful. There are 202 eye banks in the country but these are mainly involved in collection and distribution of donated eyes according to Eye Bank Association. The eye department of the GMC could perform this minimum task. Prof Kelekar's desire probably would not have been fulfilled if Dr Sean D'Silva, currently settled in Vizag, was not in Goa for Christmas celebrations. And for this he had to take help from the Rotary Club of Panaji, which runs an eye bank. If the Rotary Club could be a proud owner of the tools for such responsibility, why should not the GMC? The Rotary Club has the necessary tools including the Rs 12 lakh specular microscope in spite of the fact that it was not getting enough number of cases for eye transplant. It is not that only Goa's institutions face a lack of trained personnel to carry out this responsibility; it is a countrywide problem. Yet against odds, many hospitals and voluntary organisations have been performing this great humanitarian task. According to an estimate there are over 12.5 million visually impaired individuals. Roughly 20 per cent of the world's total of the visually impaired or about three million are disabled due to defective cornea. According to the Eye Bank Association the current annual procurement of eyes for donation is around one-tenth of the total requirement. It is also a fact that many corneas that are collected go unused, as there are not sufficient numbers of corneal surgeons to transplant them. As against an estimated 500 cornea surgeons needed in India, there are only around a hundred. But it does not mean that we should not take the initiative and build up the much-needed drive. If eye donations have to catch the public imagination, a lot has to be done in terms of creating better awareness. The government should launch an awareness drive and make people realise how precious their donation is. Significantly the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) have declared VISION 2020 as the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, to give everyone in the world the Right to Sight. The government of Goa and the GMC could join this initiative by setting up an eye bank. Editorial in Herald / 3-Jan-2009
