‘Pakistan can reduce cornea scarcity with local donations’

Rawalpindi:Eversight, a global non-profit eye bank, annually collects 10,000 cornea donations in the US, of which 30 percent are provided to other countries, including Pakistan.

Collin Ross, Vice President of Eversight, said that for over 75 years, Eversight has enabled donors and their families to give the gift of sight to people in need. Pakistan receives 1,000 donated corneas from Eversight annually, 800 of which are provided to Al-Shifa Trust (AST), the most significant partner of the non-profit in Pakistan, he added.

Talking to media men, he said AST’s commitment to eradicating blindness, the quality of eye care, competency, the latest equipment, and the largest infrastructure is admirable. Collin Ross added that the gap between the demand and the supply of corneas worldwide is widening.

He said Eversight is one of the few non-profit eye bank networks with the competence and philanthropic support to help partners in lower and middle-income countries establish their eye banks. He underlined that our primary purpose is to prepare for the launch of local eye donation programs. Trained donation coordinators will identify, screen, consent to, and coordinate cornea donation cases at one major donor hospital in each metropolitan area of Pakistan.

“Pakistani regulations are helpful in organ donations, and Nadra can play a pivotal role in this regard,” Mr. Collin said. According to the amended NADRA rules, citizens registering as organ donors will be issued lifetime CNICs with a donor logo.

“American people donate their cornea without any benefit or greed, only on humanitarian grounds,” he explained. Eversight established a state-of-the-art eye bank at Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Rawalpindi in 2019. The bank is managed by local professionals who rely on Eversight’s best practices.

He said that as many as two million people are blind due to a variety of eye diseases in Pakistan, and an estimated 250,000 have corneal blindness. The driving causes are genetic and environmental issues exacerbated by poverty.

He explained that cornea donations require regular efforts through media campaigns and persuasions. AST enjoys the people’s trust and has a comprehensive plan. He particularly praised Dr. Wajid Ali Khan, Chief of Medical Services at AST, for his dedication.

It is pertinent to mention that more than 300,000 individuals are currently on transplant waiting lists, while the demand and supply situation is unfavorable in Pakistan. Only one in 70 individuals requiring a transplant can avail the facility.

Collin said that Pakistan needs regular cornea donation campaigns and an urgent need to develop a local cornea donation system, as AST always advocates integrated donation campaigns to decrease reliance on imports. On his closing note, Mr. Collin said that Al-Shifa’s professional values are the same as Eversight’s, so we will continue to enhance cooperation.