Urging People to Pledge Your Eyes, for Eye Donation

Learn why eye donation saves sight, how LVPEI collects corneas, and how you can pledge your eyes this Eye Donation Fortnight.

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In India, more than two million people suffer from corneal blindness. A large number of them are kids. One of the easiest ways to combat this situation is to make a vow to donate your eyes. To promote this message, the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) is holding the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight from August 25 to September 8, 2026.

What corneal blindness is, why donations are important, and what you can do are all explained in this article.

The transparent front layer of the eye is called the cornea. It can become opaque because to illness, trauma, or infection. Vision loss may ensue from that. We refer to this condition as corneal blindness.

Corneal blindness results in total blindness if left untreated. Additionally, it raises what medical professionals refer to as Years Lived with Disability, or YLD. Families and communities are put under additional financial and emotional stress as a result.

India’s Problem’s Scale

Today, almost 2 million Indians suffer from corneal blindness. Remarkably, 60% of those impacted are less than 12. The only treatment available at the moment is corneal transplantation. However, only 25% of patient needs nationwide are satisfied by donations. Campaigns to raise awareness of eye donation are crucial because of this gap.

To promote awareness and debunk misconceptions about corneal donation, LVPEI hosts Eye Donation Fortnight each year. The dates of this year’s event are August 25–September 8, 2026.

During the launch occasion, Dr. Sunita Chaurasia, Medical Director of Ramayamma International Eye Bank in Hyderabad, emphasized a crucial issue. She pointed out that family agreement is required and that eye donation is only possible after death. This implies that simply promising your eyes is insufficient.

Why Family Consent Is Important

Dr. Chaurasia emphasized that in order for the family to fulfilll their wishes in the future, those who donate their eyes must also notify their loved ones. Even a registered promise might not result in a real donation without this discussion. Speaking with loved ones now can have a huge impact tomorrow.

Families of the deceased donate corneas voluntarily to LVPEI. The Hospital-based Cornea Retrieval Program, or HCRP, is in charge of this procedure.

This is how it usually operates:

• Partner hospitals have a dedicated cornea recovery technician and grieving counselor on staff.
• The counselor finds cases that are medically appropriate and sensitively addresses bereaved families.
• The cornea is removed and sent to the eye bank if the family consents.

The HCRP network’s partner hospitals are essential to the operation of this system.

Over 1,70,626 donor corneas have been gathered by the LVPEI Eye Bank Network since 1989. These corneas are shared with surgeons outside the network and support transplant procedures performed within LVPEI. As a result, LVPEI is now India’s biggest supplier of corneas that restore vision, greatly reducing wait periods for people in need.

Five Campuses with Eye Banks

Five cutting-edge eye banks are run by LVPEI:

• Ramayamma International Eye Bank, Hyderabad (founded 1989): Over 1,23,802 corneas extracted, 71,154 distributed.
• Drushti Daan Eye Bank, Bhubaneswar (founded in 2002): 18,123 corneas were distributed out of about 21,795 corneas extracted.
• Mohsin Eye Bank, Visakhapatnam (founded in 2001): 9,217 corneas were supplied out of about 16,573 harvested corneas.
• TK Eye Bank, Vijayawada (founded in 2016): 4,560 corneas were distributed out of about 8,117 collected corneas.
• Infosys Foundation Eye Bank, Kadapa (started 2025): Over 339 corneas extracted and 128 distributed.

When taken as a whole, these campuses demonstrate decades of consistent development. The difference between supply and demand is still quite large, though.

LVPEI was established in 1987 with the goal of creating eye care systems that are accessible to everybody. It is acknowledged as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Blindness Prevention.

LVPEI offers more than half of its services at no cost thanks to its cross-subsidy approach and five-tier Eye Health Pyramid. This is true no matter how complicated the treatment is. With more than 5,000 scholarly articles published in reputable international journals, LVPEI’s research output is highly noteworthy.

Are you prepared to change things? Start with these easy steps:

• Sign up for an eye donation promise with a reputable local eye bank.
• Inform your family of your choice and request that they respect it.
• Educate people in your local neighborhood about corneal blindness.

You can contact the LVPEI Eye Donation Helpline with any inquiries:

• Hyderabad: +91 9849545822
• Bhubaneswar: +91 9337704637
• Visakhapatnam: +91 9440821919
• Vijayawada: +91 9642351513

A vow to donate an eye can help someone in need regain their vision at no cost. Please take a moment to register your pledge for this Eye Donation Fortnight. After that, have that crucial discussion with your family. When taken as a whole, these modest actions can help close the corneal donation gap in India.