The partnership between the Ophthalmology Unit of Düsseldorf University Hospital and the Fundación Visión in Paraguay aims to provide improved across-the-board care for ophthalmology patients thanks to new transplant techniques and tissue-cultivation methods.
Problem: Medical care for patients with eye conditions in Paraguay is neither adequate nor available nationwide, because of shortages of donor tissue and the lack of access to ophthalmic care. The latter often results in inadequate post-operative care. In many cases infections are treated too late or not at all. The same is true of rejections of transplants.
Main activities: Within the framework of the partnership project, a Paraguayan doctor is to learn various cornea transplant techniques at the Düsseldorf University Hospital. These are subsequently to be established at the Fundación Visión and conveyed to staff there. A Paraguayan biological-technical assistant is also to learn new organ harvest techniques in Germany, and establish these in Paraguay.
Short-term results: The new surgical and harvest techniques learned as a result of the partnership are to improve the surgical care available to patients with corneal diseases.
Long-term results: Medical care for ophthalmology patients is to be ensured in spite of the shortage of donors.