AIIMS Expands Cornea Retrieval Network with Three New Hospitals
AIIMS National Eye Bank partners with three hospitals to boost cornea retrieval, enhancing transplant capabilities.
The National Eye Bank at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has expanded its cornea retrieval network by signing memorandums of understanding with three additional hospitals. This strategic move aims to enhance the availability of donor corneas for transplantation, supporting the AIIMS-Delhi Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme (HCRP).
New Partnerships to Strengthen Corneal Procurement
The newly added hospitals to the network include the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. RML Hospital, Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, and the Northern Railway Central Hospital. These collaborations are set to bolster corneal tissue procurement, facilitate research, and provide training under the HCRP initiative.
In 2025, AIIMS collected 2,167 corneas and conducted transplants on 1,775 patients, with 81.9% of these corneas retrieved via the HCRP. The program's hospital-based model enables trained eye-bank counselors and technicians to identify potential donors, counsel bereaved families, and retrieve corneas efficiently.
Innovations and Achievements
Over its 61-year history, the AIIMS eye bank has collected over 38,000 corneas and visually rehabilitated more than 28,000 individuals. The facility has also trained over 500 ophthalmologists in advanced corneal transplantation techniques. In 2025 alone, the center performed 631 optical keratoplasties and adopted sutureless Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) for faster visual rehabilitation.
The eye bank highlighted these advancements during the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight at AIIMS, showcasing a fully online death-notification system for rapid contact with donor families and an online eye-donation pledge platform. Last year, 100 individuals pledged their eyes to the bank.
Collaborative Efforts and Future Plans
AIIMS has distributed more than 4,652 vials of its proprietary corneal preservation medium, ExStorSol, to 130 eye banks across 24 states in the 2025-26 period. A project supported by RayMed aids in procuring corneal tissue from other eye banks for pediatric keratoplasty.
In addition, AIIMS has partnered with Vision-Aid in a five-year agreement to establish 10 Integrated Vision Centres across Delhi-NCR and a dedicated Cerebral Visual Impairment Resource Centre for children. The National Eye Bank, recognized with a national award for its contributions to eye banking, also honored donor families, hospitals, NGOs, and partner eye banks during the event.