No wrongdoing by Rajasthan eye bank: Panel

A four-member committee formed by the Rajasthan government to investigate the alleged wastage of donated eyes by an eye bank of the S.N. Medical College has found no wastage of the organ.

The committee, formed at the instance of state Health Minister Rajendra Rathore, in its report, gave a clean chit to the eye bank and said that none of the donated eyes were misused or wasted, sources in the health department told IANS.

Vice principal of the Jodhpur-based S.N. Medical College, Narendra Chhangani, while refusing to divulge details of the 52-page report, said: "It is confidential and we have submitted it to the state government on Thursday."

However, he hinted that there was nothing "wrong or objectionable" in the eye bank.

It may be mentioned here that Rajasthan's Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore had ordered an inquiry into the eye bank after some media reports claimed that nothing was known of what became of 742 eyes donated in the last 16 years.

The information on eye donations was sought by one Virendra Raj Mehta, a Jodhpur resident, through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

While replying to the RTI application, the college said that of 1,805 eyes donated in the past 16 years, 1,063 were transplanted to blind patients. However, the college was not able to answer where the remaining 742 eyes went.

Chhangani said some of the remaining 742 eyes were not fit to be transplanted on to patients. They were thus used by students in their research. A few of the donated eyes were still with the bank, he said.