Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu cut aribbon to debut an eye bank under t he Vietnam National Institute ofOphthalmology (VNIO) in Hanoi on March 30.
This isthe first eye and tissue bank in Vietnam since the Law on the Donationand Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs came into effect onJuly 1, 2007.
According to initial statistics, Vietnam has around 300,000 people whoare blind due to cornea diseases and there are an additional 15,000people blinded of the disease each year. The establishment of the bankis expected to meet the demands of hundreds of thousands of blindpeople who are waiting for cornea transplants.
The VNIO has so far conducted 136 cornea transplants with corneasprovided by 69 people, and 10,437 people have registered to donatetheir corneas when they pass away. However, around 300,000 blind peopleare still waiting for transplants.
The Eye Bank, a non-profit organisation, will receive, assess,classify, preserve and distribute corneas and eye tissues to eyeestablishments nationwide. It will also be involved in scientifictraining and research and international cooperation in the field inaccordance with the law.
As part of its humanitarian mission, the bank will call fororganisations and individuals nationwide to contribute and assist incornea donations and transplants./.
This isthe first eye and tissue bank in Vietnam since the Law on the Donationand Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs came into effect onJuly 1, 2007.
According to initial statistics, Vietnam has around 300,000 people whoare blind due to cornea diseases and there are an additional 15,000people blinded of the disease each year. The establishment of the bankis expected to meet the demands of hundreds of thousands of blindpeople who are waiting for cornea transplants.
The VNIO has so far conducted 136 cornea transplants with corneasprovided by 69 people, and 10,437 people have registered to donatetheir corneas when they pass away. However, around 300,000 blind peopleare still waiting for transplants.
The Eye Bank, a non-profit organisation, will receive, assess,classify, preserve and distribute corneas and eye tissues to eyeestablishments nationwide. It will also be involved in scientifictraining and research and international cooperation in the field inaccordance with the law.
As part of its humanitarian mission, the bank will call fororganisations and individuals nationwide to contribute and assist incornea donations and transplants./.
