AIIMS Expands Cornea Retrieval Network with Three New Hospitals
AIIMS National Eye Bank partners with three hospitals to enhance cornea retrieval and transplantation efforts.
The National Eye Bank at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi has expanded its cornea retrieval network by partnering with three additional hospitals. This move is aimed at boosting the supply of donor corneas for transplantation. The hospitals involved in this initiative are the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. RML Hospital, Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, and Northern Railway Central Hospital. These collaborations are part of the AIIMS-Delhi Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme (HCRP).
Corneal Transplantation Efforts
In 2025, the eye bank managed to collect 2,167 corneas, performing transplants on 1,775 patients suffering from corneal blindness. The HCRP, a hospital-based initiative, was responsible for retrieving 81.9% of these corneas. The program enables trained eye-bank counsellors and technicians to identify potential donors, engage with bereaved families, and facilitate cornea retrieval directly within hospitals.
Over the last four years, the centre has consistently performed more than 1,300 corneal transplants annually. Since its inception 61 years ago, the eye bank has collected over 38,000 corneas and facilitated visual rehabilitation for more than 28,000 individuals. Additionally, it has trained over 500 ophthalmologists in advanced corneal transplantation techniques.
Advancements in Corneal Surgery
The eye bank has embraced Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), a sutureless technique that transplants only the functional endothelial membrane in patients with endothelial dysfunction. This method offers the potential for quicker visual recovery. In 2025 alone, the centre conducted 631 optical keratoplasties.
AIIMS also showcased its advancements during the 41st National Eye Donation Fortnight program, highlighting a fully online death-notification system to expedite contact with families of potential donors. Moreover, the eye bank has developed an online eye-donation pledge system, with 100 pledges recorded in the past year.
Support and Partnerships
The eye bank has distributed over 4,652 vials of its proprietary corneal preservation medium, ExStorSol, to 130 eye banks across 24 states in 2025-26. A project supported by RayMed is also in place to secure corneal tissue from other eye banks for pediatric keratoplasty.
In a broader initiative, AIIMS has entered a five-year collaboration with Vision-Aid to establish 10 Integrated Vision Centres across Delhi-NCR and a specialized Cerebral Visual Impairment Resource Centre for children. The National Eye Bank, which received a national award for its contributions to eye banking last year, recently honored donor families, hospitals, NGOs, and partner eye banks for their support.