Ministry simplifies rules to boost cornea transplant services
S&T – HEALTH
11 NOVEMBER 2025
- The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has amended the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Rules, 2025 to boost cornea donation and transplant services across the country.
- A notification in this regard was issued on November 6 under the under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994.
- The mandatory requirement of the clinical specular equipment in corneal transplantation centres has now been removed under this amendment.
- Clinical specular microscopes are used to assess the health and density of corneal endothelial cells.
- The amendment strengthens the National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP) and streamlines functioning of corneal transplantation centres.
- It said the amendment is expected to ease infrastructure and operational challenges, particularly for smaller eye centres in rural and semi-urban areas.
- A corneal transplant is a surgical procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea with healthy donor tissue to restore vision and reduce pain.
- The cornea is the clear, front part of the eye that helps focus light; when it becomes cloudy or scarred from injury, infection, or certain medical conditions, vision can be significantly impaired.
- The transplant can involve replacing the entire cornea or just the affected layers.
- Corneal blindness has been the second-leading cause of blindness in the over-50 age group in India.
- India has an estimated 1.2 million corneal blind persons.
