Eye bank on the anvil at VIMS

Bellary, Karnataka, Oct 11 (UNI) The Karnataka State Blind Control Society has recommended the setting up of an eye bank at Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) hospital here by approving Rs ten lakh for the purpose.

Informing this to newspersons here, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr R V Hanumanthiah and district programme manager Dr H M Rajasekhar said the eye bank in VIMS would become a reality soon.

They said the target to collect eyes from donors this year had been fixed at 80 and two eyes had already been collected.

To celebrate World Vision Day tomorrow, the district health department had chalked out educative programmes to create awareness on blindness and its causes and solutions. The programmes would throw light on diabetes which could lead to permanent blindness if treatment was neglected, they said.

They said the educative programmes would be conducted in all the seven taluks of the district. Ophthalmologists would test the eyes of patients and give prescriptions, besides supplying spectacles free of cost to the poor. Three mobile units with all equipment would be used for the programme. The eyes of children studying in fifth to seventh standard would also be tested on the occasion.

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