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The potential use of synthetic lenses as an alternative to corneal transplants to cure blindness is expected to gain traction with a new partnership.
The LV Prasad Eye Institute and the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute (TKCI) have joined hands to create a new cornea institute at the campus of the former in Hyderabad. They will strive to develop new technologies that will help move away from the reliance on cornea donations for transplant surgeries.
One of the options is to use synthetic cornea lenses. The LV Prasad Institute has created history in the field of corneal transplantation by becoming the first institute in the world to achieve 20,000 corneal transplants across its network, says Gullapalli N Rao, its founder & Chairman.
May Griffith and her team of scientists from the Linkoping University, Sweden, and associated with the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute, are leaders in the field of ophthalmic research and new alternatives. “With this new institute we hope to enhance our activities significantly as well as develop a Global Resource Centre for corneal blindness,” he said in a press release.
An estimated 80 per cent of blindness globally could either be prevented or treated. The objective of the partnership is to further invest in the research of new materials and their application techniques to eliminate corneal blindness.
The TKCI with financial backing from Tej Kohli and his Foundation was formally launched here by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ESL Narasimhan, with the participation of KT Rama Rao, Minister of IT, Telangana.
Corneal disease is a major cause of blindness in India. Of the 10 million blind, 1.1 million are blind in both eyes due to corneal disease, injury, or infection. Corneal transplantation is the only known cure, which is made possible by the donation of healthy corneas by individuals upon their death.
International businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist Tej Kohli, Chairman of Kohli Ventures and Founder of the Foundation said, “The Tej Kohli Foundation has long been committed to the eradication of blindness and with our 2030 plan for eradicating corneal blindness in India, we are aiming to do so within a specific time frame”.
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