‘Network to Sight’: Telangana RTC to provide free transport of corneas from across State

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) has announced that it will transport corneas from donors across Telangana to Hyderabad free of cost.

TGSRTC said that its social initiative called ‘Network to Sight’ is aimed at supporting eye donation, ensuring timely availability for patients awaiting transplants.

MoU signed at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital

The initiative was formalised on Monday through an MoU between TGSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar and Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital Superintendent Dr Modini at the hospital premises in Mehdipatnam.

How does the transportation work?

Under the agreement, donor corneas collected at government hospitals will be preserved in ice boxes and handed over at TGSRTC logistics counters.

Bus crews will then transport the boxes to Hyderabad, where hospital staff will receive and store them in the eye bank.

3 lakh patients wait for corneal transplants every year

Highlighting the shortage of donor corneas in India, Sajjanar noted that over three lakh patients wait for corneal transplants every year, yet only about 18,000 surgeries are performed.

“Eye donation is the greatest gift—it restores sight and gives life even after death,” he said, urging citizens to pledge their eyes.

Sajjanar pledges eye donation

Demonstrating personal commitment, Sajjanar submitted his own eye-donation pledge to Dr Modini during the event. He also announced awareness programmes for TGSRTC staff to promote participation in the initiative.

Hospital welcomes support

Dr Modini thanked TGSRTC for stepping in to provide free, safe and reliable transport, assuring that every cornea will be utilised responsibly for surgeries to restore vision. Ice boxes were distributed to superintendents of government hospitals to standardise handling.

Coordinators of the Jeevandan programme, instrumental in organ donation awareness, were felicitated.