National Eye Donation Fortnight 2018 begins

National Eye Donation Fortnight 2018 begins today :

New Delhi, August 25, 2018 :Observed across the country under the National Program for Control of Blindness, the National Eye Donation Fortnight starts today and ends on September 8, 2018. The objective is to educate the public about cornea donation and pledge their eyes for donation after death. Most blind people are young in the productive age group, who have lost their vision due to deficiency of Vitamin ‘A’, malnutrition, congenital or other factors underscoring the need to bridge the gap between demand and supply of cornea.

The approval of the first drug for neurotrophic keratitis has come as a ray of hope for those suffering with this rare disease. Oxervate, a topical eye drop containing cenegermin has been approved by US FDA for the treatment of neurotrophic keratitis. Neurotrophic keratitis is a degenerative disease resulting from a loss of corneal sensation. The loss of corneal sensation impairs corneal health causing progressive damage to the top layer of the cornea, including corneal thinning, ulceration, and perforation in severe cases.