Army’s Command Hospital undertakes first corneal transplant surgery in J&K

Jammu, Jul 25 (PTI) Setting a new milestone by opening eye-bank facilities and a corneal transplant centre, the Command Hospital of the Army has helped two elderly persons to regain vision in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, a defence spokesperson said on Tuesday.

He said the eyes donated by a deceased person in Katra were retrieved by the Eye Bank of the Command Hospital (Northern Command) and transplanted to give vision to two visually-disabled people.

The spokesperson added that one of the recipients of the organs was a 64-year-old man who had lost vision in both eyes 20 years ago. He started moving around comfortably within a few days of the surgery.

Another transplant surgery performed on a 67-year-old woman who had corneal opacity in the right eye for five years has grossly benefitted the recipient, he said.

Udhampur district had no corneal transplant facilities until now, the spokesperson said, adding that the hospital under the command of Major General Avinash Das took the initiative to start the facility this year.

He said a certificate of registration for eye banking and a corneal transplantation facility under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (THOTA) Act was obtained from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May.

A team led by Lieutenant Colonel Priya Taank, who is trained in corneal transplant surgeries, is working on promoting eye donation in Udhampur and the transplantation of cornea in cases of corneal blindness.

A number of patients have registered themselves for corneal transplants at the hospital, the spokesperson added.