Eye donation in north India: Trends, awareness, influences and barriers

Abstract

Purpose:To understand trends, awareness, influences and barriers to eye donation in Indian society.Methods:This cross sectional study was conducted in Delhi from March 2017 to February 2018. About 10 hospitals collaborated with the Eye Bank under Human Cornea Retrieval Program (HCRP). Eye Bank recruited Eye Donation Counselors (EDCs) to approach family members of the deceased. A pretested questionnaire was used for this study. Irrespective of whether the next of kin of the deceased consented for eye donation or not, the option of participating in the survey was given.Results:Out of 473 potential donors identified, 407 (86%) next of kin consented to participate in the study. Of these, 388 (95.3%) were males and 19 (4.7%) were females. About 168 (41%) consented for eye donation and were assigned to donor group, while 239 (59%) participants refused eye donation and were assigned to non-donor group. Majority of the participants were siblings 170 (41.8%) of the deceased and the mean age of the deceased was 42.71 ± 17.56 years. The foremost concern before decision-making was transparency in how the cornea would be used (32.25%). The concern with regards to whether the body would remain intact after eye donation significantly decreased the probability of consent for eye donation.Conclusion:The study highlights that barriers to eye donation in India are not cultural or religious but more due to misinformation and proper utilization of the donated tissue. This study also emphasizes the pivotal role of EDC's in facilitating the eye donation movement.

Donor profile and trends of eye donation in Central India

“…Other sources included newspaper, family members, neighbors etc. Source of motivation for corneal donation was counselling in a study by Acharya, et al in which about 41% participants were willing to donate cornea after counselling [13]. Sharma, et al in their study observed 61 (57.5%) cases where the willingness come post direct motivation by grief counselors [6].…”

Evaluation of Junior Doctors’ Knowledge of Corneal Donation and the New Opt-Out System in England

“…One of the most common issues is related to the concern of disfigurement following corneal donation. 9, 10 Another important barrier to corneal donation is the lack of awareness and knowledge of corneal donation amongst the general public. 10-12 In addition, staff may feel uncomfortable or unconfident in discussing corneal donation with the patients and the relatives.…”

“…9, 10 Another important barrier to corneal donation is the lack of awareness and knowledge of corneal donation amongst the general public. 10-12 In addition, staff may feel uncomfortable or unconfident in discussing corneal donation with the patients and the relatives. 13 To address the constant deficit of donor corneas, various countries have considered and implemented a range of initiatives and research programmes, including campaigns to increase public awareness of corneal donation, introduction of telephone consent, refinement in the eye retrieval and eye banking systems, and development of corneal cell-based therapy.…”

Redefined role of eye bank counselors during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The success rates for eye donation following counseling as per an Indian study ranges between 30 and 40%. [ 5 ] For plasma donation, the success rate of 32% was achieved following counselling (91 + 58 cases of the 460 eligible donors counseled). Lower figures could be attributed to the newer arena for eye bank counselors and an early evaluation.…”