The counselors will be sent to cremation sites to convince the bereaved families to allow extraction of cornea from the eyes of their beloved one.[break]
Twyana said that the counselors will also be deputed at Bir Hospital, Patan hospital and at medical colleges.
"We are going to announce the vacancy for grief counselors," manager of the Nepal Eye Bank, Sankha Narayan Twyana said, adding, "The counselors will be given training on how to deal with stressful situations before they are sent to the field." He said that communication skill is a prerequisite to become a grief counselor.
According to Twyana people interested in counseling must have a strong desire to help others and should be able to inspire respect, trust, and take people into confidence.
Some volunteer counselors had been assisting the eye bank to get people to donate cornea until now. More than 300 people are waiting for cornea transplants at Tilganga Eye Hospital alone. He said that public awareness campaigns to inform people about the positive side of cornea donation will also be launched soon.
Apart from employing grief counselors, the bank is also working to set up cornea excision centers at major hospitals of the capital and at regional hospitals. The bank says that it will employ more technicians to extract the cornea.
The bank has already set up cornea excision facility at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), regional hospitals of Biratnagar, Pokhara, and at Lahan hospital.
The corneal tissue and blood will be collected and transported from those hospitals to the bank for testing, evaluation, and preservation. Only the Nepal Eye Bank has the facility to examine the tissue in the country.
"Once the tissue is tested, it can be transplanted into eye of a blind person or sent to the hospitals where patients are waiting for transplant," he added. Corneal tissue remains fit for transplantation for up to four days of extraction if kept in the appropriate conditions.
The bank has already set up an Eye Donation Information Center & Cornea Excision Center at the cremation site of Bhasmeshwar Ghat of Pashupati Area.
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