THE Subraj Foundation is analysing the possibility of setting up an eye bank in Guyana to meet the needs of patients desperately in need of corneal transplants.
A cornea transplant, also called keratoplasty, is a surgical procedure designed to replace part of the cornea with corneal tissue from a donor. The cornea is the transparent, dome-shaped surface of the eye that helps it to focus.
At the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) Eye Clinic, there are approximately 50 to 75 patients per year who require corneal transplants due to their corneas being damaged, according to head of the Ophthalmology Department of the GPHC, Dr. Shailendra Sugrim.
However, only a limited number of these patients have been able to undergo these surgeries.

With massive support from the Subraj Foundation, the GPHC has been able to facilitate a total of 57 corneal transplants within a period of two years. At the ending of July, the Subraj Foundation facilitated a multi-million dollar mission to Guyana with the aim of completing 16 corneal transplants.
The U.S.-based team led by Dr Rahul Jindal came to Guyana with a record of already performing 26 kidney transplants, in addition to 41 corneal transplants at the GPHC since 2015.

This time around, Dr Joseph Pasternak, a U.S.-based Corneal Special Surgeon, performed the corneal transplants with assistance from Dr. Sugrim and another local ophthalmologist, Dr. Celeste Hinds.
Head of the Subraj Foundation, Tony Subraj, who took up the mantle upon the passing of his father George Subraj,the founder, said over the past two years, the foundation managed to secure the corneal tissues from eyes banks in the U.S.

MORE TRANSPLANTS
He said, however, if an eye bank is established here in Guyana, the foundation in collaboration with the GPHC would be able to carry out more transplants per year.
According to Tony Subraj, he has already started to engage members of both sides of the National Assembly with the hope of effecting the necessary legislative changes to allow for an eye bank here.

In a separate interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Dr. Sugrim said once the necessary legislative framework is put in place, the eye bank can be established within a period of two years.
He added that Dr. Hinds, who has recently returned to Guyana after completing a three-month fellowship which had focused on the cornea, has been mandated to lead the team that will assist with formulating the legislation.
That aside, the Subraj Foundation, which is being funded by Zara Realty Holding Corp in the U.S., had also over 87 pieces of instruments to perform kidney transplants, donor nephrectomy and vascular surgeries.

The set includes precision forceps, dissecting instruments, variety of scissors, various vascular clamps for a variety of surgical conditions and needle-holders. The 16 corneal transplants and the donation had formed part of the foundation’s 25th mission to Guyana. That mission was conducted from July 25-30, and in addition to the medical doctors included Tony Subraj, Gloria Subraj, Jasmine Subraj, Richard B. Mahase and Jay Jainarine.
Throughout the 25 missions to Guyana, Subraj Foundation has performed a series of kidney and cornea transplants; and paediatric heart surgeries.

OTHER GOOD GESTURES
Additionally, the foundation donated a computer lab and 66-seater school buses to Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) Secondary School at Corneila Ida, West Coast Demerera. The SEVAK project was also introduced in Guyana. The projected, aimed at villagers, seeks to arrest the spread of such diseases such as hypertension and diabetes through education.
In detailing the early beginnings of the foundation, the Public Relations Officer Richard Mahase told the Guyana Chronicle that after migrating to the U.S. in 1971, George Subraj, who passed away in November 2016, had become the president of the Zara Realty in Queens New York. It was in 1992 that Subraj opted to become a philanthropist with the aim of giving back to his country of origin.

“He was motivated to give back to Guyana, his country of origin, because he saw a lot of suffering and pains that the people were going through and wanted to give back,” Mahase posited.
In 2007, Subraj partnered with Dr. Rahul M. Jindal, a transplant surgeon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, to provide renal transplant and renal replacement therapy in Guyana. This programme was initiated in 2007.
“He discovered a child Munesh Mangal, who wanted to get a kidney transplant, because he was very ill and needed US$36, 000 to go abroad for surgery, but could not afford that amount of money. Mr. Subraj, through a family member, saw the flyer and he reacted. He travelled to Guyana with a team led by Dr. Rahul Jinda… they did all the ground work,” Mahase recalled.

On July 8, 2008, history was created in Guyana when the first kidney transplant was successfully completed within seven hours.
“From then on, George Subraj and his team have expanded this to serve a larger percentage of the community. This trip marks the 25th mission of the Subraj Foundation. On his passing last year, his son, Tony Subraj, his wife and children, continued his legacy of health education across Guyana,” the PRO added.

Weighing in on his father’s vision, Tony Subraj said it was the desire of his father to improve the lives of the Guyanese people.
“He was a son of the soil and he had always believed in giving back,” he posited.
When the first transplant was conducted, Tony Subraj had travelled to Guyana with his father, and today continues his father’s legacy by promoting healthcare and assisting the less fortunate. In his honour, a commemoration ceremony was held on July 30, 2017 at the SVN Secondary School.