Chandigarh, Aug. 26 -- The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), in 2024, registered 444 eye donations and successfully performed 348 corneal transplants, recording a utilisation rate of 78%, the doctors said on Monday during a press conference at the Advanced Eye Centre where the 40th National Eye Donation Fortnight was launched. On the occasion, head of the eye centre Dr Surinder S Pandav was present, along with other doctors from the ophthalmology department including Dr Amit Gupta, Dr Chintan Malhotra and Dr Parul Chawla Gupta. Despite these achievements, the demand for corneal transplants still far outstrips supply. Across India, more than 10 lakh people suffer from corneal blindness, with nearly 20,000 new cases each year. At PGIMER alone, around 2,000 patients remain on the waiting list, while only 400-500 corneas are received annually. In 2024, 60-70% of donations came through the hospital cornea retrieval programme, while voluntary donations were facilitated by various organisations. As many as ten donations were also received alongside organ donations last year....