Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a serious disease that affects premature and low-birthweight infants and is the primary cause of childhood blindness in infants less than 34 weeks (8 months) old. It happens when blood vessels develop abnormally in the retina and can’t transport the oxygen required.

Timely screening and treatment of ROP can prevent blindness and minimize visual impairments. If diagnosed within one month of preterm birth, this disease is completely treatable, and the infant’s vision can be preserved.

In India, there are about 3.5 million premature births annually, and over 150,000 are liable to develop Retinopathy of Prematurity. The latest study in 2010 showed that at least 5,000 Indian newborns developed severe ROP, with nearly 3,000 of them experiencing vision loss¹. And numbers have been on the rise…

Born Too Soon - Moradabad District, Uttar Pradesh India

Our Born Too Soon program aims to bridge gaps in the delivery of eye health services to newborns at risk of ROP through a comprehensive screening and treatment strategy.

Along with our partner hospital in Moradabad, the C. L. Gupta Eye Institute, we are:

• Developing a strengthened neonatal health care system that includes primary eye care in the project locations. This ensures our approach is fully integrated with India’s health system, meaning it’s sustainable.
• Utilizing a specialized teleophthalmology platform to screen all newborns at risk of ROP in our intervention areas, with screenings happening right within the infant’s local Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Infants are screened by experienced and certified ophthalmic technicians, and experts at the C. L. Gupta Eye Institute provide a remote diagnosis. Infants diagnosed with ROP are then referred to the C. L. Gupta Eye Institute for timely treatment.

Donate today to help provide early diagnosis and treatment for more babies.

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