Air India Transports 431 Donated Corneas Across India in FY26

Hyderabad, August 28, 2026: Air India transported 431 donated corneas across India between April 2025 and March 2026, supporting the movement of corneal tissue required for sight-restoring transplant procedures.

The initiative is being carried out through a partnership between Air India and the Eye Bank Association of India (EBAI), under which donated corneas are transported across the airline’s domestic network free of charge and receive priority handling.

The arrangement helps address one of the logistical challenges involved in corneal transplantation: moving donated tissue quickly and reliably between eye banks and recipients. Corneas recovered at L V Prasad Eye Institute’s Ramayamma International Eye Bank (RIEB) in Hyderabad, for example, may need to travel to recipients linked to the Drushti Daan Eye Bank (DDEB) in Bhubaneswar.

Once a family consents to cornea donation, medical teams recover and preserve the tissue before eye bank coordinators arrange its movement to the intended destination. The donated cornea is transported in an insulated container and requires careful handling throughout the journey.

For eye banks, timely transportation is an important part of ensuring that donated tissue reaches recipients within the required timeframe. By providing free domestic transportation and priority handling, the Air India-EBAI partnership is intended to reduce logistical barriers and allow eye banks and medical teams to focus on the clinical aspects of transplantation.

The 431 corneas transported during FY25-26 represent the movement of donated tissue across Air India’s domestic network. Each shipment forms part of a larger chain involving donor families, eye bank coordinators, medical professionals, airport teams, cargo handlers and airline personnel.

The partnership also highlights the role that transportation networks can play in supporting healthcare services where donated biological tissue needs to move between cities within defined timelines.

For recipients living with corneal blindness, successful transplantation can help restore vision and support greater independence. The transportation of donated corneas therefore forms an important link between the decision of a donor family to give the gift of sight and the patient awaiting treatment.