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HEALTH&FITNESS
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May15
Singapore Eye Bank, 11 Third Hospital Avenue.
6322 8340 |
snec.com.sgWhat would you say to someone who is
experiencing the symptoms of corneal
blindness and is unsure of the benefits and
complications of a corneal transplant?
Seek information or a consultation early, and from
a reliable source. The SNEC performs over 300
corneal transplants a year, and its experienced
team of corneal surgeons and nurses can provide
comprehensive information and support both pre-
and post-operatively. Always ask your surgeon if
any of the latest corneal transplant procedures
would be appropriate for your form of corneal
blindness.
Maksim Shmeljov | Dreamstime.com
What are some of the challenges faced in the local corneal
donation process?
Compared with people in Western countries, Singaporeans are still very
conservative about corneal donation, and organ donation as a whole.
In addition, socio-cultural and religious beliefs that hinder donation are
still prevalent among the older generation. On the other hand, younger
people tend to be much more informed and modern in their views.
Of course, this only happens when they are made aware that Singapore
has a highly successful corneal transplant programme, and that we
continually need donors. Therefore, one of our most important goals is
to create awareness about corneal blindness, the need for donors and
the fact that each donor helps to restore the sight of two other individuals.
What are the success rates for corneal transplants?
In most corneal transplant programmes, the one-year graft survival rate
is around 85 to 90 percent. In our Singapore Cornea Transplant Study
(SCTS) database, which tracks over 4,000 corneal transplants performed
at the SNEC since 1991, results show that our one-year transplant survival
rates vary between 94.3, 96.3 and 96.7 for the PK, DALK and EK forms
of transplantation respectively; these are among the highest survival
rates worldwide.