AMMAN - The Ministry of Health on Sunday announced that it will facilitate more corneal transplants for patients at public hospitals.
Minister of Health Nayef Fayez said the ministry will cooperate with eye surgery specialists to conduct operations at ministry hospitals equipped with the required facilities.
In a statement received by The Jordan Times yesterday, Fayez noted that 110 corneal transplants were recently performed at Prince Hamzah Hospital, with some 250 corneal surgeries conducted in ministry hospitals each year.
The minister explained that the procedure is part of a ministry strategy to prevent blindness in the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Friends of the Eye Bank Society called for more efforts to encourage cornea donations, noting that currently there are some 2,000 registered patients in need of a corneal transplant to restore their sight.
The society's secretary general, Ahmad Shaker, told The Jordan Times that some 4,000 corneas were donated by citizens over the last 30 years, while some 5,000 were imported from other countries.
He added that the cost of each imported cornea is JD1,250, while the standard surgery costs up to JD600.
"We want to reach a stage where people realise the importance of cornea donation to restore and save people's sight," Shaker said yesterday, adding that many hospitals have designated social workers who talk to families of the deceased about cornea donations.
He noted that in Jordan, corneal donation after death can be authorised by the deceased's family even if the donor did not consent to it previously.
By Khetam Malkawi
© Jordan Times 2010
