State-wise Cornea Collection and Transplantation under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) in India: A Record-based Study

Background: Corneal blindness is one of the major preventable causes of visual impairment in India, with a persistent gap between the demand for and availability of donor corneas. The present study aimed to assess national trends and state-wise variations in cornea collection and corneal transplantation over a five-year period (2016-17 to 2020-21) under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI). Methodology: Retrospective record analysis was done using data from NPCBVI from 2016-17 to 2020-21 for cornea collection and transplantation. Data from state/UT wise were collected and rates per 1,00,000 population were calculated on the basis of estimated population. Results: While cornea collection was rising slowly till 2017-18 (71,709; 5.76/lakh) and subsequently fell sharply to 17,402 (1.29/lakh) in 2020-21, cornea transplantation also followed a similar trend, declining from 31,417 (2.52/lakh) to 11,859 (0.88/lakh) over the five years. Marked regional variation was observed, with some states like Chandigarh, Telangana, Puducherry, Mizoram, and Gujarat showing higher collection and transplantation rates and other states namely, Bihar, Jharkhand, and North Eastern states lagged behind. Conclusions: The country of India shows marked regional disparities concerning corneal procurement and transplantation. The number has fallen sharply since the time of the coronavirus pandemic.