Hospital deaths with centre eyes ‘presumed consent’ for cornea retrieval

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare may amend the Act to allow cornea retrieval from all Indian patients who die in hospitals without family consent.

• The initiative is in response to a high demand for cornea donation, with the country meeting only 50% of the requirement.

• The new initiative will presume every person dying in a hospital to be a cornea donor.

• Those not willing to donate should register their unwillingness to donate while alive.

• The decision was made after a high-level meeting convened by Director-General of Health Services Atul Goel on “Cornea donation/retrieval/distribution and other related issues” in Delhi.

• Medical colleges and hospitals will be directed to provide compulsory training in cornea/eye retrieval to all postgraduate trainees, resident doctors, and medical officers working in eye departments.

• The training of technicians in cornea or eye retrieval will be instituted by the governments in the States and the Union Territories.