Longleng CMO Dr Thungchanpeni Patton, healthcare officials, and attendees at the sensitization programme marking the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight at District Hospital, Longleng, on September 7.
Longleng, September 7 (MExN): The District Health Society, Longleng, observed the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight (NEDF) under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB & VI), holding a sensitisation and awareness programme at the District Hospital on Monday with a focus on preventing corneal blindness.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Longleng, Dr Thungchanpeni Patton, highlighted the vital importance of eye donation, its aims, and the pressing need to upscale public awareness to eliminate preventable corneal blindness.
Dr Patton urged stakeholders to motivate people to pledge their eyes, dispel pervasive myths and misconceptions, and emphasize the role of corneal transplants in restoring sight. Describing eye donation as a "noble gift which lives forever," she called on families to honour their deceased relatives' wishes to donate, adding, "A pledge today can give someone the gift of sight tomorrow."
District Hospital Longleng Ophthalmologist Dr Thejavituo Kire noted that the National Eye Donation Fortnight is a nationwide 15-day campaign observed annually since 1985 with the backing of the Government of India. The initiative seeks to mobilize healthcare institutions to drive grassroots awareness and encourage post-mortem eye donations.
Explaining the operational procedure and cornea harvesting process, Dr Kire outlined common causes of corneal blindness and noted that any individual, irrespective of age or gender, can donate eyes posthumously, barring those with specific transmissible or infectious diseases.
Underlining that corneal diseases and trauma rank among the leading causes of visual impairment globally, Dr Kire pointed out that because there is no synthetic substitute for the human cornea, donated tissue remains indispensable for sight-restoring keratoplasty (transplantation).
He expressed concern over the persistent shortfall between the demand and supply of donor corneas, appealing to citizens to learn the scientific facts, discard superstitions, and step forward to pledge their eyes post-death to give the gift of vision to those in need.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Counsellor Bingmei, while Ophthalmic Assistant Y Chingphuh delivered the invocation.
