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Chandigarh/ Eye donation awareness fortnight begins at PGIMER

Chandigarh : As the nation observes the 39th National Eye donation fortnight from 25th August to 8th September, the campaign for it also kick-started at the PGIMER, Chandigarh with great zeal.

The fortnight was inaugurated with the release of balloons jointly by Chief Guest Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER and Prof SS Pandav, Head, Advanced Eye Centre and President, Lions Club Central. The function was also attended by the Cornea faculty of the Advanced Eye Centre comprising Prof Amit Gupta, Dr Chintan, Dr Parul Chawla, Dr Sonam, Dr Anchal and Dr Jitender. Shri Sanjeev Gupta, Shri Satish Bhaskar and other members of Lions Club Central, Chandigarh besides other staff of Advanced Eye Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh also attended it.

National Eye Donation Fortnight is a 15-day campaign celebrated every year by Govt. of India wherein health institutes and other stakeholders are encouraged to campaign for mass public awareness of eye donation and to motivate citizens to pledge their eyes after death. The celebration of National Eye Donation Fortnight has been going on successfully since 1985.

At present, around 1.1 million people are corneal blind in India and the current annual transplant number in the country is 25000- 30000. In PGIMER, around 2000 patients are waiting for their corneal transplantation but the hospital gets only 400-450 corneas every year. The objective of this fortnight is to create mass public awareness and to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of corneas. Another key aim of observing the fortnight is to debunk myths and fears surrounding eye donation.
In this year, a lecture series will be organized for eye donation in schools, colleges and public places for public awareness. In addition, competitions like poster-making, essay writing, reel-making, and other activities will also be organized in schools on eye donation and the winners will be felicitated at Advanced Eye Centre, PGI, Chandigarh at the concluding ceremony. A walk will also be organized on September 1, 2024, from Rock Garden to Sukhna Lake to commemorate this event. Besides this, messages of eye donation will be displayed at prominent places including religious places with the collaboration of Lions Club Central, Chandigarh for sensitization of the general public regarding the Nobel cause.