Dr. Gullapalli Rao Calls for Policies to Boost Corneal Transplants in India

India: Dr. Gullapalli Nageswara Rao, Founder of LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), underscored the urgent need to strengthen India's infrastructure for corneal transplants to tackle the growing demand. The announcement coincided with LVPEI’s Shantilal Shanghvi Cornea Institute reaching a historic milestone of completing 50,000 corneal transplants as of August 2024—an achievement that positions it as the world’s only institution to achieve this feat over 38 years. Dr. Rao highlighted that the achievement demonstrates the potential for advanced corneal services in India, proving that what once seemed impossible is now a model that can be replicated across the nation.

Despite this success, India faces a significant challenge, with approximately 100,000 corneal transplants needed annually to treat nearly one million people affected by corneal blindness. However, current healthcare infrastructure can only support 30,000 transplants each year, leaving a substantial gap between demand and capacity. Dr. Rao emphasized that the gap is widening, requiring immediate and comprehensive efforts to enhance the country’s corneal healthcare infrastructure.

By 2030, Dr. Rao envisions increasing the number of transplants from 30,000 to 60,000 annually. This will require substantial investment in expanding the eye bank network, with plans to establish at least 50 standard eye banks nationwide—each requiring an investment of around ₹1 crore. To further boost donation efforts, hospital cornea retrieval programs need to be set up in 500 major hospitals, accompanied by grief counselors to facilitate donations and link to eye banks. Moreover, Dr. Rao stressed the need for training 500 ophthalmic surgeons to handle the increasing demand for corneal transplants.

Dr. Rao outlined a comprehensive approach, including the development of state-of-the-art facilities adhering to international eye banking standards, recruitment and training of cornea specialists, and encouraging local pharmaceutical production of essential medications for corneal care. Public awareness campaigns should emphasize the importance of cornea donation after death, while better-trained grief counselors can play a crucial role in persuading families to donate corneas.

Demographic disparities also impact access to care, with states lacking sufficient cornea specialists facing longer waiting lists and higher backlogs. Dr. Rao called for equitable distribution of resources and training to ensure nationwide access to corneal care.

Dr. Rao urged stakeholders, including the government, private sector, and medical community, to collaborate on policy creation, resource allocation, and awareness campaigns to build a self-sustaining corneal healthcare system. "With united efforts, we can restore sight to millions suffering from preventable corneal blindness," Dr. Rao concluded.