The document discusses recommendations for improving eye banks and corneal transplantation processes. It suggests establishing a centralized online patient and doctor registry for eye banks. Eye banks should provide estimates for wait times, adhere to testing and quality standards, and be transparent about waitlists. Eye banks abroad often provide pre-cut tissue and evaluate tissue quality using OCT scans. Regular meetings between eye banks and surgeons could improve processes. Eye banks should provide additional tissues and materials beyond donor corneas and conduct training workshops. In cities with multiple eye banks, cooperation rather than competition should be prioritized.

1. Dr. Quresh B. Maskati
Cornea Surgeon and
Trustee, EBCRC, Mumbai

2.  Ideal would be a centralised list in the cloud,
accessible by patients and doctors and all participating
eye banks
 Ability to register patients online, instead of by
personal visits
 Ability of eye bank to give a realistic estimate of time it
may take for the patient to get the tissue
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3.  Evaluation and grading by qualified technicians
 Sticking to SOP and protocols for testing of
blood and the tissue
 Subjecting themselves to regular performance
and quality control audits by an external agency
 Transparency in maintenance of waiting lists
 Regular reports to surgeons about number of
eyes received, processed and distributed and
reasons for rejecting tissue
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4.  With the advent of lamellar grafts, most eye banks
abroad give surgeons pre-cut tissue as per request
received
 Several of them have an OCT machine, to detect
LASIK done in donors which make the tissue unfit for
PK and to evaluate the tissue cut in the eye-bank for
quality
 Of course, not-for-profit eye banks in the USA charge
up to $3500 per tissue compared to barely Rs.10,000/-
(in Mumbai)
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5.  Each eye bank should have at least quarterly meetings
with the surgeon’s using tissue from their bank
 This interaction will iron out many irritants on both
sides and make each party appreciate the role of the
other
 This will also lead to several suggestions from the
surgeons which may streamline eye bank operations
for the better
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6.  The eye bank should not only provide donor corneas
but also:
 Sclera, preserved in absolute alcohol
 Amniotic membrane
 Be able to make autologous serum drops
 Conduct wet-labs to train eye surgeons in keratoplasty
techniques
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Tip of ice-berg

7.  In cities with multiple eye banks:
 Co-operate with each other, instead of fighting
 Have a common MTNL number, so public has to
remember only one number
 Do not “steal” technicians trained by one eye bank
 Share donor and recipient data to avoid multiple
registrations and frustration when a recipient informs
that his surgery is already done when called to collect
eyeball
 Do not duplicate existing but underutilised facilities in
one eye bank
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8.  Almost all the suggestions made in the previous slides
are being implemented by EBCRC or are on the EBCRC
wish list
 We sincerely wish that we could all join forces to
optimise utilisation of tissue for the benefit of our
patients
 We are open to efforts by any persons or
organisations in this matter
 We will continue to strive to meet surgeon’s
expectations
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