Corneas harvested at the funeral pyre in Kathmandu give the gift of sight to hundreds of patients in the Himalaya.

Nepal Lions Eye Bank

Funded by Lions International, the Tilganga Eye Centre and Himalayan Cataract Project developed the Nepal Eye Bank in conjunction with Tissue Banks International in Baltimore, Maryland. The Nepal Eye Bank is a model for eye bank policy and procedures. It runs public outreach programs to create awareness of the need for and value of cornea donations. Overcoming social reluctance to cornea donations has been a major achievement of the Eye Bank. The people of Nepal have been so understanding and generous that by 2003 the Eye Bank had harvested 2,096 Nepali corneas. The Eye Bank has enabled Tilganga to provide American standard corneal services.