Eye bank gets 4,407 corneas from abroad

Eye bank gets 4,407 corneas from abroad

BOGOR (JP): Indonesia Central Eye Bank (BMIP) have received a
total of 4,407 corneas from various donor countries so far, BMIP
chairwoman Siti Maimunah Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara said on
Tuesday.

The top contributor was Sri Lanka with 3,087 corneas, followed
by local Indonesian donors (469), United States (460), the
Netherlands (29) and India (2), the wife of former Soeharto
Cabinet minister Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara said in a statement
during a ceremony to install new executives at the BMIP Bogor
chapter.

"Thousands of blind people have regained their eyesight thanks
to these kind donors. But there are still more people awaiting
further help," Maimunah said in her statement read by BMIP
executive Sulaeman Krisnandi.

In her speech, Maimunah also revealed BMIP's Research and
Development on Blindness Center on a 3,000 square meter plot in
Bogor was complete.

The Rp 3.25 billion research center is expected to be
officiated by First Lady Sinta Nuriyah in the upcoming sixth
national congress of the Indonesia Central Eye Bank, slated to be
staged in the next couple of months, she added.

"We hope the research center will become a leading center for
experts and doctors to develop new techniques and help cure
blindness."

Among the new executives of Bogor's BMIP chapter are
chairwoman Sewu Mutia and spokesman Farid Soeparman. (24/edt)