Doctors of hope on the wing

Jaipur: From afar, it appears like any other passenger plane on the runway, waiting for travellers to take off. A closer look reveals that this DC-10 jet is unique - it houses the only airborne operating theatre for eye treatment in the world.
Its purpose is to eliminate avoidable blindness in developing countries where 90 per cent of the world’s 45 million blind people live.
ORBIS, an NGO which works for saving sight worldwide, is using this plane as a tool to create awareness about eye donations and skills exchange on eye diseases in developing countries. The plane’s current fortnight-long stop is Jaipur, where it will operate around 150 blind children inside the plane as well as train over a 100 doctors and double the number of paramedical staff from different hospitals in Rajasthan.
The flying hospital is the brainchild of one man - Dr David Paton - an eminent eye surgeon in USA. In the 1970s, while touring developing world, he was shocked by the state of eye care services and decided to embark on an airplane-bound mission that could bring hope and light into numerous lives in these countries.
The refurbished aircraft has all facilities to run a miniature hospital. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art examination and laser treatment room, operation theatre, recovery room, nursing and bio-medical engineering training areas, audio/visual studio and 48-seat classroom.
The first hospital with wings was launched in 1982, its maiden voyage being to Panama. Since then, the flying eye hospital has visited 87 countries and saved the sight of tens of millions of people. Jaipur is its 17th visit to India. Next year, it plans a revisit to the country. It flew to India for the first time in 1982.
27/09/09 Ajith Athrady/Deccan Herald

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Categories: Foreign Sep 2009