Kerala's corneal transplant push faces shortage of young donor tissue
Kerala's expanding corneal transplant services are constrained by a shortage of young donor corneas, prompting calls for robust hospital retrieval programmes.
As Kerala expands corneal transplantation services across its public health network, ophthalmologists are flagging a critical constraint: a persistent shortage of corneas from young donors. The gap threatens to undermine the state's drive to prevent corneal blindness.
Experts say the solution lies in strengthening Hospital Cornea Retrieval Programmes (HCRP) in both government and private healthcare institutions. These programmes enable timely collection of corneal tissue from deceased patients within hospital settings, rather than relying on family-initiated donations.
The shortage of young corneas is particularly significant because tissue from younger donors tends to have higher endothelial cell density, which is associated with better graft survival and visual outcomes. Older donor tissue, while usable, often yields less favourable results.
Ophthalmologists argue that with transplant infrastructure already in place, the missing link is a systematic retrieval mechanism. A robust HCRP would involve trained grief counsellors, sensitised hospital staff, and streamlined consent processes — all aimed at increasing the pool of viable donor tissue.
The emphasis now is on building a sustainable pipeline of corneal donations that matches the state's growing surgical capacity, ensuring that patients awaiting transplants are not left waiting due to avoidable tissue shortages.