Narayana Nethralaya, Hospital for Sick Children join hands in initiative for kids suffering from retinoblastoma

Narayana Nethralaya, Bangalore has entered into an agreement with 'Hospital for Sick Children' (Sick Kids), Toronto, Canada to support treatment of retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that affects children under five years of age.

The initiative has been facilitated by Healthy Kids International, a Sick Kids outreach that supports numerous international projects.

It is aimed at facilitating enhancement of Narayana Nethralaya's capacity for conducting genetic analysis to assess probability of members of families developing retinoblastoma, according to Dr K Bhujang Shetty, chairman, Narayana Nethrayalaya. He was speaking to reporters told while announcing the conclusion of the agreement in Bangalore on Monday.

''Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer that can potentially take the life of a child. The agreement is a major step in management of children's eye cancer in India. The aim of the 25-year-old institution is to ensure that no child with vision and life threatening eye diseases will be turned away for want of finances'', he said.

According to Dr Ashwin Mallipatna, head of retinoblastoma services Narayana Nethralaya, who trained at Sick Kids for two years under Dr Brenda Gallie, an authority on the disease said, ''Approximately one child in every 15,000 children is affected by retinoblastoma. This is the most common cancer of the eye in India and third most common type of cancer in children here''.