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AIIMS Eye Bank Expands Reach for Transplants
1 Sep
Summary
- AIIMS' National Eye Bank added three hospitals to its network.
- The eye bank collected 2,167 corneas and performed 1,775 transplants in 2025.
- Over 28,000 people visually rehabilitated in 61 years of operation.
The National Eye Bank at AIIMS has recently integrated three new hospitals into its cornea retrieval network, bolstering its capacity for corneal transplantation. MoUs were established with Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr RML Hospital, Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, and Northern Railway Central Hospital.
This expansion supports a high volume of transplants, with 2,167 corneas collected and 1,775 transplants performed in 2025. The hospital-based program, HCRP, was instrumental, retrieving 81.9% of the collected corneas by enabling on-site procurement.
Over six decades, the eye bank has collected over 38,000 corneas, facilitating sight restoration for more than 28,000 people. It has also advanced surgical techniques, transitioning to sutureless Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) for faster patient recovery.
During the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight, AIIMS highlighted innovations like an online death-notification system and an eye-donation pledge system, with 100 individuals pledging their eyes in the past year. The center also distributed its indigenous corneal preservation medium, ExStorSol, to 130 eye banks across India.
