Eye health stakeholders advocate for passage of Human Organ and Tissue Bonation Bill

Stakeholders in eye health are urging the government to expedite the passage of the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Bill, 2023, into law to enhance healthcare services.

They emphasized that the absence of a law to regulate and facilitate cornea donation is hindering over 26,000 citizens living with corneal blindness from receiving sight-restoring transplants.

According to Graphic Online,

Read full articlethe call was made during the second corneal transplant summit held in Accra, which brought together the Ophthalmological Society of Ghana (OSG), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ghana Medical Association, and health-focused NGOs.

The summit, co-hosted by Cureblindness (HCP) and OSG in partnership with the GHS, centered on the theme: "Eliminating corneal blindness in Ghana: The time is now for the human organ and tissue law.”

Key participants at the summit included senior consultants and surgeons in ophthalmology, such as Dr. Seth Lartet, Dr Edith Dogbe, and Dr Dziffa-Bella Ofori-Adjei.

Dr James Addy, Ghana Country Director of HCP, highlighted the critical need for cornea donations, emphasizing that transplant surgery is the only solution for reversing corneal blindness.

He noted that the country's four corneal surgeons performed 14 sight-saving surgeries in 2022, a significant achievement in Ghana's ophthalmology sector. However, the current dependence on imported tissues is costly and time-consuming.

Dr Addy stressed the importance of passing the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Bill, which would facilitate the establishment of eye banks in Ghana.

He emphasized that the bill extends beyond corneal donations to all organ donations and transplants, providing strict guidelines and deterrent punishments to prevent potential violations.