3 hospitals get nod for corneal transplants in Jharkhand, total centres increase to 11
Ranchi- The Jharkhand Department of Health, Medical Education, and Family Welfare has granted approval to three hospitals, including one private healthcare facility, to perform corneal transplants, marking a step towards improving eye care infrastructure in the state.
With these newly approved hospitals in the state, the total number of hospitals authorised to perform corneal transplants in Jharkhand has risen to 11.
Approval for performing corneal transplants was granted to the IRIS Super Speciality Eye Care Centre, Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH) in Ranchi.
The advisory committee of the department, constituted under the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011, approved the proposal. Approval was granted for a period of five years after scrutinising their proposals in accordance with technical and legal standards.
However, registration was not granted to the other two institutions because the trained human resources and medical equipment were found not to meet the required standards.
According to the TOI media report, Ajoy Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary of the Health Department, stated that the move aims to strengthen organ and tissue transplant services in Jharkhand and ensure that patients receive quality and timely treatment within the state, thereby reducing the need to travel elsewhere for specialised eye care services.
Additionally, Dr Sunil Kumar, Head of the Ophthalmology Department at RIMS and a member of the Health Department's advisory committee, stated that although the number of facilities has risen to 11 with the inclusion of three new ones, only two, the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) at RIMS and Kashyap Eye Hospital in Ranchi, are actively performing corneal transplants.
Along with this, Dr Manisha Kujur, the State Nodal Officer for the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), also stated that the number of pledges for organ and tissue donation in the state is comparatively low.
