Rekha Khandelwal1, Payal Katre2
Corneal transplantation can restore sight in patients of corneal blindness but the number of transplants done in India is far less than needed. The active participation of paramedical staff in the eye donation programme can increase the number of donors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate awareness and knowledge about eye donation in medical and paramedical staff working in a tertiary cares hospital of Central India. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was done at a tertiary care hospital attached to a medical college. A pre-tested, open-ended questionnaire on eye donation was designed to collect information from 300 health-care providers chosen by random sampling method. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 11.0 software. RESULTS: Out of 300 subjects, 143 (47.66%) were males and 157 (52.33%) were females. It was observed majority of the participants (91%) had heard about eye donation but the knowledge about ideal time of eye donation and corneal transplantation was poor. Sixty-five percent quoted that lack of awareness about eye donation in masses was as an important reason for not donating eyes. CONCLUSION: The medical and paramedical staff should be trained regarding this noble gesture so as to improve the corneal transplantation rates and thereby reduce the burden of corneal blindness in our country.
