Eye and Body Donation After Death in Delhi NCR: What to Do

How does eye donation after death work in Delhi?

Eye donation after death in Delhi is arranged by calling an eye bank within about 4–6 hours of death. A trained team comes to the home or hospital, removes the corneas, and leaves. The family's rites continue as planned.

Only the cornea, the clear front layer of the eye, is usually used for transplant. A single donation can restore sight to people with corneal blindness. A prior pledge helps, but it is not required. The legal next of kin can consent at the time of death.

• Age is no bar. People who wore spectacles, had cataract surgery, or lived with diabetes or high blood pressure can usually donate.
• Retrieval usually takes around 15–20 minutes and does not disfigure the face.
• The family pays nothing for retrieval or transplant.
• The eye bank screens for certain infections and conditions. If you are unsure, call anyway and let them decide.

What should the family do right after death to allow eye donation?

Call the eye bank first. Then close the eyelids, place damp cotton or a clean wet cloth over them, and keep the room cool.

1. Call an eye bank as soon as death is declared. In Delhi, the National Eye Bank at AIIMS lists 011-26593060 and 9999168374. If you cannot get through, call the nearest hospital eye bank, or NOTTO on 1800-11-4770 for guidance.
2. Gently close the eyelids and cover them with damp cotton.
3. Switch off the ceiling fan. Keep the air conditioning on if possible.
4. Raise the head slightly on a pillow.
5. Keep the death certificate or medical certificate of cause of death ready, with the ID of the family member who will sign consent.

The team will take written consent from the next of kin and may take a small blood sample for screening. If the death happened in a hospital, ask the ward staff. Some large hospitals, including AIIMS, run their own hospital corneal retrieval programmes.

Which eye banks can families call in Delhi NCR?

The National Eye Bank at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS New Delhi, is the largest. Guru Nanak Eye Centre runs the Delhi government's eye bank, and many large private eye hospitals run their own.

• National Eye Bank, AIIMS New Delhi: 011-26593060 and 9999168374, as listed on the AIIMS website. Pledges can also be made online through AIIMS.
• Guru Nanak Eye Centre, Delhi government: collects corneas through voluntary donation and hospital referrals.
• Delhi government's Aangdaan portal: the official organ, eye and tissue donation portal of Delhi, with a list of eye and cornea transplant centres.
• Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad: call the eye bank at the nearest large hospital or eye hospital, or NOTTO for direction.

How does whole body donation work in Delhi?

Body donation in Delhi means giving the whole body to a medical college's anatomy department for teaching and research. The department must be told quickly after death so it can collect the body.

At AIIMS New Delhi, a person registers during their lifetime by filling a will form and donor card, signed before two witnesses from the next of kin, and sends them to the Head of the Department of Anatomy. After death, the family informs the department as early as possible and hands over the body with a death certificate from a registered medical practitioner. The AIIMS form lists the department's office line as 011-26593216, with after-hours numbers printed on the form and donor card.

Other Delhi medical colleges, such as Lady Hardinge Medical College and Maulana Azad Medical College, also accept body donations through their anatomy departments. Some colleges accept a donation even without a prior pledge if the family consents. Ask the department directly.

When is body donation not accepted?

Medical colleges can decline a body for legal or health reasons. Families should know this in advance, so a refusal does not come as a second shock.

AIIMS New Delhi's form states that it does not accept a body if:

• the death followed an accident, was a medico-legal case or was otherwise unnatural, where a post-mortem is involved;
• the person had HIV, infective hepatitis, gas gangrene or tetanus;
• the body has begun to decompose;
• the body is outside the Union Territory of Delhi, as AIIMS collects only within Delhi.

Other colleges set their own conditions, so ask when you call. Keep a second plan ready. If the body is not accepted, the family can go ahead with a funeral in its own tradition. Eye donation may still be possible even when body donation is not.

Does the family need to consent, and can rites still be held?

Yes, the family's cooperation matters. Even with a pledge, the next of kin usually signs the handover, so talk about the wish openly while you can. Short prayers can be held before the body is handed over.

• Share the pledge card or registration number with close family, and keep a copy with important papers.
• Talk with elders and faith leaders early. Many families of different faiths see donation as an act of seva or compassion.
• Prayers, a brief viewing and goodbyes can usually happen at home before the medical college collects the body. Ask the department how much time is practical.
• Because there is no cremation or burial, families often hold a prayer meeting or memorial in the days after.

To pledge in advance, eyes can be pledged online with the AIIMS National Eye Bank, and organs and tissues through NOTTO's registration, which Delhi's Aangdaan portal links to. Body donation is registered directly with a medical college's anatomy department. A pledge is a wish, not a contract, so the conversation with family matters as much as the form. Our guide to planning ahead has more on recording these wishes.

You will still need to register the death and obtain the death certificate. See our death certificate guide.

What about organ donation, and who can help?

Organs such as the kidneys, liver and heart can usually be donated only after brain death declared in a hospital, not after death at home. The hospital's transplant coordinator guides the family through this.

You can pledge organs and tissues through NOTTO, the national organ and tissue transplant organisation, whose 24x7 helpline is 1800-11-4770. In Delhi, the government's Aangdaan portal links to the same pledge.

If you would like us to carry this part, Eternal Repos can help you reach the eye bank or anatomy department quickly, gather the papers, and arrange dignified transport where the institution asks the family to bring the body. Call +91 84486 61338, any hour. We stand beside you whatever you decide.