Cornea transplantation was started in Nepal in 1994 when the Tilganga Eye Bank imported three corneas from the Baltimore-based International Federation of Eye and Tissue Banks then. It stopped the import in 1998 after collecting 240 corneas at home. However, around 50 per cent of those suffering from blindness are still waiting to undergo transplantation for lack of generous donors. Although the number of donors is believed to have increased over the years, it is not enough to meet the current demand. Some 300 patients are in the waiting list of the Tilganga Eye Hospital alone. A blindness survey carried out in 1981 said one out of every 100 people in Nepal is blind. That ratio may have gone up by now.

Surprisingly, superstitious beliefs still prevent people, especially those from the upper class, from contributing towards this noble cause. It is said that many people are unwilling to donate corneas for fear of being born blind in their next birth. Thanks to such outmoded thinking, the doctors get hold of only one quality cornea per day. The shortage will remain until the public is made more aware of the significance of eye donation. The hospital management along with the health ministry must initiate nationwide donation campaigns and seek wider involvement of the civil society organisations to urge more people to volunteer for cornea donation. In the meantime, the eye bank could rethink all possibilities to resume import of some corneas for at least those already awaiting transplantation.