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)