Health minister Ma. Subramanian pledged his eyes at the launch of a rally to raise awareness about eye donation. On Sunday, the Minister, who flagged off the rally organised by Rotary Rajan Eye Bank as part of the National Eye Donation fortnight observed from August 25 to September 8, lauded the efforts of the hospital, the eye bank and the Rotary Club in eradicating curable blindness.
Medical director of Rajan Eye Care Hospital Mohan Rajan said: “The need of the hour is cornea. The rally created awareness about eye donation.” Rotarian Nandakumar pledged his eyes to the bank.
Demand-supply gap
On Saturday, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital organised a human chain at Elliot’s Beach. Hospital medical director S. Soundari, besides senior officials of the hospital and 200 college students, participated in it.
Senior cornea consultant and medical director of Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Bank Preethi said although one pair of cornea could give vision to four people, there is a huge gap between demand and supply. According to the National Programme of Control of Blindness, a third of the world’s visually challenged population is from India, accounting for 12 million individuals with visual impairment.
