Jammu, Jul 25 – The Command Hospital of the Army in Jammu and Kashmir has reached a momentous achievement by establishing an Eye-Bank and Corneal Transplant Centre, successfully restoring vision to two elderly individuals in Udhampur district, according to a defense spokesperson’s statement on Tuesday.
The eye donation from a deceased person in Katra was skillfully retrieved by the Eye Bank of the Command Hospital (Northern Command) and transplanted to bring sight to two visually impaired people. One of the beneficiaries was a 64-year-old man who had been without vision in both eyes for two decades, but within a few days of the surgery, he was able to move around comfortably.
Additionally, a corneal transplant surgery was performed on a 67-year-old woman who had suffered from corneal opacity in her right eye for five years, resulting in a significantly improved condition, as stated by the spokesperson.
Prior to this initiative, Udhampur district lacked corneal transplant facilities. However, under the leadership of Major General Avinash Das, the hospital took the initiative to establish this essential service this year.
In May, the hospital obtained a certificate of registration for eye banking and a corneal transplantation facility under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (THOTA) Act from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Heading the effort is Lieutenant Colonel Priya Taank, a trained expert in corneal transplant surgeries, who is diligently working to promote eye donation in Udhampur and provide corneal transplantation for cases of corneal blindness.
The initiative has garnered considerable interest, with numerous patients already registering themselves for corneal transplants at the hospital, the spokesperson added.
