A counsellor at a hospital speaks to the family of a patient who died 2 hours ago. They wish to donate his eyes. Which statement about eye donation in India is correct?
- A The whole eyeball is enucleated and transplanted directly into the recipient
- B Only the cornea is retrieved, ideally within 6 hours of death, after obtaining consent from relatives ✓
- C Corneas can be retrieved only from donors younger than 40 years
- D Retrieval must wait for 24 hours after death to confirm absence of infection
Correct answer: B. Only the cornea is retrieved, ideally within 6 hours of death, after obtaining consent from relatives
Explanation
Eye donation means corneal retrieval, not removal of the whole globe, and it should be done as early as possible, ideally within 6 hours of death, with informed consent from the next of kin. There is no upper age limit for donation, killing distractor C, since endothelial cell counts are assessed rather than age alone. Delaying retrieval reduces endothelial viability and risks contamination.
Reference: Khurana Comprehensive Ophthalmology, 7th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.